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US talks military intervention in Syria – report

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Published: 12 March, 2012, 10:06
Edited: 12 March, 2012, 16:48

TAGS:
Arms, Conflict, Meeting, Military, UN, Protest, Politics, USA, Opposition, Syria

US marines (AFP Photo / Don Emmert)

Washington has allegedly opened discussions with allies on possible military intervention in Syria, as foreign ministers from the UN Security Council nations meet to discuss the Syrian conflict.
­The Washington Post cites unnamed officials who confirm behind the scenes talks will address arming Syria's opposition, sending troops to protect a humanitarian corrdor and an airstrike.
However, the US officially insisted they currently rule out an option of any military involvement in Syria’s internal conflict.
The allies nevertheless remain deeply divided over the scope of any intervention, how and when it would happen, and who would participate, reports the newspaper.
Over the weekend, UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan held two meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The negotiations failed to reach any tangible results. The Syrian leader rejected a proposal for a dialogue with the opposition and made it clear it would not be open while “armed terrorist groups were still operating in the country.” The former UN chief however said he “feels optimistic.”
The legitimacy of any military options under international law remains highly questionable, with Russia and China having vetoed UN Security Council resolution.
On February 4, Russia and China vetoed the UNSC resolution condemning the Syrian regime’s continuous crackdown on the opposition. The move upset the international community, but Moscow and Beijing said the resolution was unbalanced. While calling on Damascus to end the violence, it did not send the same message to the Syrian opposition.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from the 15 Security Council nations are due attend an open SC meeting on Monday to assess the aftermath and scope of a year of Arab uprisings. The Syrian conflict is also expected to be discussed.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are to meet separately as the two countries have serious differences in the approach to the Damascus crisis solution.

Mossad, CIA and Blackwater operate in Syria - report

Mossad, CIA and Blackwater operate in Syria - report

Members of the Free Syrian Army patrol an area in Qusayr, 15 kms (nine miles) from Homs. (AFP Photo / STR / Ahmed Jadallah)

A security operation in Homs reveals Mossad, CIA and Blackwater are involved in the military violence in this part of Syria, as over 700 Arab and Western gunmen and Israeli, American and European-made weapons were detained in Baba Amr district.
­Syrian security forces got yet further proof of Western powers’ military involvement in Syria’s internal conflict, reports Al-Manar, a news agency, affiliated with Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militant group and political party.
Around 700 gunmen were recently arrested in the former rebel stronghold of Babar Amr.
“The captured gunmen held Arab nationalities, including Gulf, Iraqi, and Lebanese. Among them were also Qatari intelligence agents and non-Arab fighters from Afghanistan, Turkey, and some European countries like France,” the agency quotes Syrian expert in strategic affairs Salim Harba as saying.
Harba also confirmed to the agency that “a coordination office was established in Qatar under American-Gulf sponsorship. The office includes American, French, and Gulf – specifically from Qatar and Saudi Arabia – intelligence agents, as well as CIA, Mossad, and Blackwater agents and members of the Syrian Transitional Council.”
The Syrian expert also added the security forces have also seized Israeli-, European- and American-made weapons.
“The Syrian army also uncovered tunnels and equipments there,” he told to the agency, “advanced Israeli, European, and American arms that have not yet been tested in the countries of manufacture, in addition to Israeli grenades, night binoculars, and communication systems were confiscated by the security forces.”
Salim Harba however said the Syrian authorities are not planning to reveal all the obtained information now, but assured all the evidence is of high value.
“The Syrian security forces have documents and confessions that could harm everyone who conspired against Syria, and could make a security and political change, not just on the internal Syrian level, but also on the regional level,” he said.
The recent Stratfor leak and hacked email of the company’s director of analysis also suggest undercover NATO troops are already on the ground in Syria.
There have been previous allegations of a Western presence on the side of the rebels as 13 French officers were reportedly captured by the loyalist forces earlier in March.
President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly claimed his regime is fighting not with peaceful protesters as claimed by the West, but with the military gangs supported by the West.
Western powers however have categorically denied any military involvement in Syrian internal conflict.

British, Qatari troops already waging secret war in Syria?

British, Qatari troops already waging secret war in Syria?

British and Qatari troops are directing rebel ammunition deliveries and tactics in the bloody battle for Homs, according to an Israeli website known for links to intelligence sources.
­Four centers of operation have been established in the city with the troops on the ground paving the way for an undercover Turkish military incursion into Syria.
The debkafile site said the presence of British and Qatari troops in Homs topped the agenda of Tuesday’s talks between Assad’s officials and head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov.
Qatar makes little secret of supporting the Syrian opposition with cash, arms and political support. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said in mid-January he is ready to send troops to Syria to stop the violence there. Britain insists it is not planning any military action against the Assad regime.
The scenario painted by the report closely resembles Libya’s collapse into anarchy. UN Security Council resolution 1973 forbade any ground troops from intervening in Libya while creating a pretext for NATO to launch a bombing campaign against Muammar Gaddafi’s troops.
However Qatar, Britain and France later confirmed they had sent units to assist the Libyan rebels. Secret French weapons drops were discovered after they fell into the wrong hands. There were also unconfirmed reports that Western special forces directed air strikes from forward frontline positions and directed combat tactics.
The Pentagon and its allies have proposed the creation of a humanitarian corridor in Syria with a view to delivering supplies and humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians. However, critics have cast doubts on the plans, likening them to the no-fly zone in Libya which preceded military intervention in the country.
Commenting on the US’s proposal for the creation of a “humanitarian corridor,” journalist Carla Stea told RT its “opening could easily become distorted and used for other purposes.”
The Libya example was cited by Russia and China when they vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria last Saturday. Britain, France & the US, who backed the resolution lashed out at Moscow and Beijing, accusing them of siding with a regime that had ‘blood on its hands’.
Ali Rizk, a Middle East expert talking live to RT from Beirut, described the UK and Qatari intervention  as a sign of “how desperate the anti-Assad forces have become.”
“After the Russian veto dealt a severe blow to their agenda, now they are in a state of desperation where they’ll probably stop at nothing to try and regain the momentum again”, said Rizk.
He then linked the refusal of pockets of the opposition forces to negotiate unless Assad falls as part of a Western agenda to remove a political obstacle to their interests in the region.
“For the West it’s not about negotiations; it’s about overthrowing a regime which is part of a border block which Western powers want to get rid of.”
“The political stance is that if we overwhelm Assad we’ve dealt a severe blow to Iran’s presence and Hezbollah, two of Israel’s staunch enemies.”

Impeach Obama' Bill: Use of military without Congress approval 'high crime'

'Impeach Obama' Bill: Use of military without Congress approval 'high crime'

US President Barack Obama speaks alongside Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (R) (AFP Photo / Saul Loeb)

An American military attack on Syria could effectively lead to the impeachment of President Barack Obama. Congressmen say that any war without congressional authorization would be “unconstitutional”.
Republican Representative Walter B. Jones Jr. has come up with the resolution demanding Obama’s impeachment in case his administration starts another military action without the approval of Congress. This came as a reaction to the American Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announcing that in order to carry out the offensive, the US military needs permission from the UN and NATO alone.
Jones’s resolution states that the prime authority to rule on the attack is the US Congress, but not international bodies be it NATO or UN.
“Expressing the sense of congress that the use of offensive military force by a president without prior and clear authorization of an Act of Congress constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under Article II, Section 4 of the constitution,” Jones’s resolution said.
In an exchange which occurred at the session of the Senate Armed Services Committee, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said that in case Obama administration decides to strike Syria, it would merely “inform” Congress after the decision has been made.
“Our goal would be to seek international permission and we would come to the Congress and inform you and determine how best to approach this,” Panetta said. “Whether or not we would want to get permission from the Congress, I think those are issues I think we would have to discuss as we decide what to do here.”
Responding to Panetta, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions said he was “breathless” to hear the statement.
“I am all for having international support, but I am really baffled by the idea that somehow an international assembly provides a legal basis for the United States military to be deployed in combat,” Sessions said. “They can provide no legal authority. The only legal authority that is required to deploy the United States military is of the Congress and the president and the law and the constitution.”
The Obama administration has allegedly started a fresh discussion on a possible military strike on Syria with its allies, the Washington Post reports. American officials have yet to confirm the report, saying that at this point they rule out military involvement in Syria’s internal conflict. There are reports that British and Qatari troops, as well as the CIA and Mossad, are already covertly involved with the Syrian conflict.

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The PirateBox”: WiFi + USB Drive = Your Own Mini-Internet (Freedom)

The PirateBox”: WiFi + USB Drive = Your Own Mini-Internet (Freedom)

By Tony Cartalucci

Global Research, January 19, 2013

localorg.blogspot.com

Theme: Police State & Civil Rights

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 18 2

 

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Worried about draconian Internet laws? Creeping surveillance? The inability to share with others without being criminalized? The Internet is still a tool of tremendous power, but a deep rot has set in. We have caught it early and we are fighting to stop this rot, but there are other options we can begin exploring to hedge our bets, enhance our current efforts of fighting against corporate monopolies, and eventually, build an Internet of the people, by the people, for the people – big-telecom monopolies not welcomed.

Image: The PirateBox in use on a handheld device. Once the PirateBox is up and running, either on a standalone device like the one pictured to the right (background), or on your laptop as described here, it will appear as another WiFi network for people in range to connect to. Once connected files can be freely shared, and there is even a chat client users can communicate with. It is just as useful as a file server for a small business, as it is for circumventing the draconian criminalization of Internet file sharing. 

….

In last week’s “Fighting Back Against the “Intellectual Property” Racket,” the “PirateBox” was introduced. The PirateBox transforms a laptop, router, or single board computer into a mini-Internet hub where files can be freely shared, and even features a chat program so users can communicate. It is a lite version of the mesh networks described in December 2012′s “Decentralizing Telecom” where independent mesh networks featured many software alternatives to emulate popular online programs such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and others. The PirateBox is an introductory project anyone with a WiFi adapter and a USB thumbdrive can do on their own with a little motivation and an hour to experiment.

In a busy office, a PirateBox can serve as a simple local wireless file server and chat client. In an apartment complex, it can become the center of a social experiment, an opportunity to reach out to neighbors and organize constructively, or just for fun – building badly needed local communities back up.
Instructions for perhaps the easiest of PirateBox’s implementations can be found on blogger, designer, and activist David Darts’ website here. The instructions are nearly fool proof, and a lot of the common problems ran into are described and their solutions linked to throughout the explanation.
The PirateBox does not connect to the Internet, nor does it operate from your hard drive. It works entirely on the USB thumbdrive you install it on, simply using your computer’s WiFi to network all who are in range.
Ideally you’d want to make a dedicated, standalone PirateBox to serve your space, office, and neighbors. A great place for beginners to embark on this is at your local hackerspace. If you don’t have a local hackerspace, look into starting one up.
Protesting is important, but protesting alone will not stem the problem at its source. The rot will continue to spread unless we develop tangible tools to pragmatically excise it and repair the damage it has already done. The problem of corporate monopolies ensnaring and subjugating us through their telecom monopolies can and is being solved by solutions like mesh networks, the PirateBox, and the onward march of open source software and hardware, simply displacing proprietary products and services. The best way to ensure success is to have as many informed and constructive people as possible join in the problem-solving process.

….

Since posting about the PirateBox, LocalOrg has received several success stories of people who have either already been using it, or have looked into it, prompting this follow up. Continue sharing your success, and if you would like, contact us and have them covered here on LocalOrg.

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Sanctions: Weapons of Mass Death and Destruction

Sanctions: Weapons of Mass Death and Destruction

Iran hasn’t been in the headlines in recent months, but there’s a lot of talk that 2013 will be the year of decision on Iran—whether a deal will be struck between the U.S. and its allies and Iran on ending or restricting Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, or whether the U.S., Israel and other big powers will attack Iran.
The debate about confirming former Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, revolves around whether he’s “tough enough” on Iran, while leading think-tank strategists are calling for overt preparations for attacking Iran, tougher economic sanctions and “more explicit threats to destroy its nuclear programme by military means.” (Jim Lobe, January 16)

“In 2013, perhaps in the next few months, President Obama will face a crisis on Iran. He has categorically ruled out living with a nuclear-armed Iran under a Cold War—style policy of containment,” Fareed Zakaria writes. “That means either Iran will capitulate to U.S. demands or the U.S. will go to war with Iran. Since the first option is extremely unlikely and the second extremely unattractive, the Obama administration needs to find a negotiated solution. That means using sticks and carrots—or what is often called coercive diplomacy—to get a deal that Washington and Tehran can live with….Otherwise, 2013 will be the year that we accepted a nuclear Iran or went to war.” (“The Year We Reckon With Iran,” January 21, Time)

In short, tough sanctions are being promoted as a kinder, gentler alternative to war. And perhaps some people voted for Obama in part because they perceived him as less likely to start a war with Iran than Romney.
But let’s get clear: Stiffening sanctions is a form of war against an entire population—a real weapon of mass destruction that is already imposing enormous suffering and death on the Iranian population. The U.S. is literally murdering babies and other vulnerable sections of the populations, but this fact is rarely mentioned by the cheerleaders of empire—aka the U.S. media—and there is no debate about it within the U.S. ruling class.

“Targeted” Sanctions Target the Iranian People

The U.S. claims that its sanctions are “smart” or “targeted” and only aimed at Iran’s government—the Islamic Republic—and its top leaders. But because the U.S. and its big power allies (Germany, France, Britain and other European countries) are sanctioning and embargoing Iranian banks, they have crippled Iran’s ability to pay for urgently needed imports—including medicines—and halted many shipments. In addition, many drugs and needed chemicals aren’t getting into Iran thanks to the banning under the sanctions of “dual-use” chemicals with possible military applications.
Here are some of the impacts being felt, just in terms of drugs and medicines:
“Hundreds of thousands of Iranians with serious illnesses have been put at imminent risk by the unintended consequences of international sanctions, which have led to dire shortages of life-saving medicines such as chemotherapy drugs for cancer and blood-clotting agents for haemophiliacs,” Guardian UK reports.
Iran produces most of its medicines internally, but sanctions have crippled domestic production making many Iranian-made drugs unavailable or very costly. This past October, two pharmaceutical companies closed and others are facing closure or bankruptcy.
The director general of Iran’s largest biggest pharmaceutical firm told the Guardian, “There are patients for whom a medicine is the different between life and death. What is the world doing about this? Are Britain, Germany, and France thinking about what they are doing? If you have cancer and you can’t find your chemotherapy drug, your death will come soon. It is as simple as that.”
His firm can no longer buy medical equipment including sterilizing machines essential for making many drugs, and some of the biggest western pharmaceutical companies refuse to have anything to do with Iran. “The west lies when it says it hasn’t imposed sanctions on our medical sector. Many medical firms have sanctioned us,” he said.
According to the Guardian, there’s a “looming” health crisis in Iran. Each year 85,000 new cancer patients are diagnosed who need chemotherapy and radiotherapy, now in short supply.

“Iranian health experts say that annual figure has nearly doubled in five years, referring to a ‘cancer tsunami’ most likely caused by air, water and soil pollution and possibly cheap low-quality imported food and other products….An estimated 23,000 Iranians with HIV/Aids have had their access to the drugs they need to keep them alive severely restricted. The society representing the 8,000 Iranians suffering from thalassaemia, an inherited blood disorder, has said its members are beginning to die because of a lack of an essential drug, deferoxamine, used to control the iron content in the blood.”

Iran’s over 8,000 hemophiliacs are in grave peril. It’s more and more difficult for them to get blood clotting agents, and operations on hemophiliacs “have been virtually suspended because of the risks created by the shortages,” the Guardian reports. At the end of October 2012, a 15-year-old child died for lack of coagulant medication. The head of Iran’s Hemophilia Society said, “This is a blatant hostage-taking of the most vulnerable people by countries which claim they care about human rights. Even a few days of delay can have serious consequences like haemorrhage and disability.” (See, Mehrnaz Shahabi, “The unfolding humanitarian catastrophe of economic sanctions on the people of Iran.”)
Last year, Iran’s Hemophilia Society told the World Federation of Hemophilia that tens of thousands of children’s lives were being threatened by shortages of medicines.
Again, this is just the sanctions’ impact on Iran’s healthcare—it is also devastating the population in a hundred other ways big and small.

They Know…And They’re Killing Babies Anyway

The Obama administration and its allies know full well how sanctions are impacting the people of Iran—including helpless babies. In fact, they’ve admitted in rare moments of truth-telling (mainly within their own ranks in discussions of strategy and tactics) that the whole point of sanctions is to cause suffering and discontent among Iran’s population, in order to pressure or collapse the Islamic Republic. An article last year in an article titled, “Public ire one goal of Iran sanctions, U.S. official says, the Washington Post reported, “The Obama administration sees economic sanctions against Iran as building public discontent that will help compel the government to abandon an alleged nuclear weapons program, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official.”
A column in the rightwing Wall Street Journal – “What Iran Sanctions Can and Can’t Do,” — was more explicit:  sanctions were a “tool to precipitate the regime’s collapse.”
Too many people see sanctions as a thoughtful, peaceful, or diplomatic alternative to war. Bullshit.
It’s nonsensical as well as criminal because sanctions are already in effect killing people, but it’s also because sanctions can be part of the preparations or strategy for war. This is what the U.S. did to Iraq before the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. Between these two wars and the intervening 13 years of sanctions, well over a million—probably over 2 million—Iraqis were killed. And did those sanctions prevent war? No. Because one goal of imperialist sanctions is to win political support for war if that’s deemed necessary: “We tried sanctions and had to resort to war,” they’ll claim.
Another goal is to soften an enemy up so waging war will prove easier—again, if the imperialists deem it necessary.

Sanctions or War = Imperialist Aggression

Neither imperialist war, nor imperialist sanctions, nor imperialist “diplomacy” are anything other than different forms of imperialist aggression. None of them are moral, or just. All must be opposed. It’s unconscionable for people in the U.S. to sit passively and silently by as these crimes are being carried out in our names, resulting in the suffering and deaths of thousands of people, thousands of miles away.
We can’t accept the terms that it’s either sanctions or war – either slow death or fast death. The U.S. is killing Iranian civilians in the interests of an unjust empire, and this is something that everyone with a conscience and a basic sense of right and wrong should oppose and protest.
Larry Everest is a correspondent for Revolution newspaper (revcom.us), where this article first appeared, and author of Oil, Power & Empire: Iraq and the U.S. Global Agenda (Common Courage 2004).  In 1991 he traveled to Iraq and documented the impact of the Persian Gulf War and sanctions in his film: Iraq: War Against the People.  He can be reached at larryeverest@hotmail.com.

Sins of Omissions: The United Nations Ignores Terrorism Within Syrian Rebel Organizations

Sins of Omissions: The United Nations Ignores Terrorism Within Syrian Rebel Organizations

On October 23, 2012, Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja’afari sent a letter to the President of the United Nations Security Council and to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon listing 108 foreign individuals arrested in the Syrian Arab Republic .  All individuals were engaged in terrorist activities within Syria .  Many of these terrorists were members of Al Qaeda in Iraq , others were jihadists from Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Libya, Palestine, Egypt and Australia.
In an interview I had with Ambassador Ja’afari, he confirmed that this letter was also circulated to all United Nations committees concerned with counter-terrorism.  The letter was not translated from the Arabic for several months.  Although the relevant United Nations organs were established to address precisely the crisis of the international spread of terrorism, absolutely no action was taken by any of these United Nations committees to halt or even address this massive invasion into Syria by foreign terrorists who joined the Syrian “rebels.”
United Nations Resolution 1963, Adopted by the Security Council on 20 December, 2010 states:

“Reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed, and remaining determined to contribute further to enhancing the effectiveness of the overall effort to fight this scourge on a global level.”

On November 21, 2012, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari presented a second letter to the President of the UN Security Council, and to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, containing another list of 143 “Foreign and Arab individuals who were killed in Syria while carrying out their terrorist activities.  The list includes information about each individual:  name, age, date and place of death, and nationality.  The majority of the individuals entered the Syrian Arab Republic illegally, and they hold passports of different nationalities such as:  Qatari, Saudi, Tunisians, Egyptian, Sudanese, Libyans, Afghani, Jordanians, Turks, Yamani, Iraqi, Azerbaijani, Chechnya , Kuwaitis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Algerians, Chadian and Pakistani.”
Ambassador Ja’afari confirmed, in our interview that, again, the translation of the letter from the Arabic was delayed, inexplicably.  He confirmed that this second letter was again circulated to all United Nations committees dealing with counter-terrorism.  Again, absolutely no action was taken by these committees whose responsibility it is to halt the massive spread of terrorists such as are now invading Syria to join the Syrian “opposition.”  Absolutely no action was taken by the UN Security Council to halt this influx of foreign terrorists into Syria , or even to address these letters, despite the fact that many of these jihadists were members of Al Qaeda.
Evidently, all terrorism in unjustifiable, but some terrorism is justifiable.  This incriminating double standard is revealed in two resolutions adopted by the Security Council almost simultaneously with the Syrian Ambassador’s letters, which continue to be ignored.  Resolution 2078, adopted on November 28, 2012, on the Democratic Republic of the Congo states:  “Expresses deep concern at reports indicating that external support continues to be provided to the M23, including through troop reinforcement, tactical advice and the supply of equipment, causing a significant increase of the military abilities of the M23, and reiterates its demand that any and all outside support to the M23 cease immediately.”
On December 20, 2012, Security Council Resolution 2085, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter was unanimously adopted, stating:  “Demands that Malian rebel groups cut off all ties to terrorist organizations, notably Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and associated groups, and take concrete and visible steps to this effect, takes note of the listing of Movement of Unity and Jihad in Western Africa (MUJWA) on the Al-Qaeda sanctions list established and maintained by the Committee pursuant to Resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) and further reiterates its readiness to continue to adopt further targeted sanctions, under the above-mentioned regime, against those rebel groups and individuals who do not cut off all ties to Al-Qaeda and associated groups, including AQIM and MUJWA.”
The United Nations failure to condemn the vast numbers of terrorists, particularly those affiliated with Al-Queda, infesting the Syrian “opposition” makes a mockery of the Counter-Terrorism apparatus, whose actions are too often politicized and applied “selectively,” confirming the observation that “All acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, but some acts of terrorism are welcome if they contribute to regime change in Syria (or in other independent states).”
On January 7, President al-Assad of Syria declared:

“We didn’t choose war, war was imposed on Syria…We are fighting those, most of whom are non-Syrians, who came for twisted concepts and fake terms they call jihad….and I believe that most of you know how this kind of terrorism was fostered three decades ago in Afghanistan by the West and with Arabs’ money.  After the mission of these terrorists ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, terrorism broke loose and started hitting everywhere in the Arab world, the Islamic world and then moved to the West…Syria has always been and will remain a free and sovereign country that won’t accept submission and tutelage.
That is why it has been a nuisance for the West….As for the West, the descendant of colonialism and owner of the first seal in the policy of division and despicable sectarian strife, it is the one who closed the door of dialogue, not us.  It’s used to giving orders to the submissive, and we’re used to sovereignty, independence and freedom of decision… because the West is addicted to hirelings and the subjugated, and because we’re raised on dignity and pride, and so we shall remain. …They call it a revolution, but in fact it has nothing to do with revolution.
A revolution needs thinkers.  A revolution is built on thought.  Where are their thinkers?  A revolution needs leaders.  Who is its leader?  Revolutions are built on science and thought and not on ignorance, on pushing the country ahead, not taking it centuries back, on spreading light not cutting power lines.  A revolution is usually done by the people, not by importing foreigners to rebel against the people.
Are those revolutionaries?  They are a bunch of criminals.”

On January 16, the New York Times reported former UN Envoy Kofi Annan “warning that the opposition’s insistence that Mr. Assad step down before any negotiations begin is perpetuating a stalemate and risking a descent into chaos.”  Former Syria advisor to the Obama administration, Frederic C. Hof  “wrote last month that although the opposition has offered general assurances to the one-third of Syrians who belong to minority groups, ‘probably no more than a handful believe it, especially as jihadist groups grow more prominent on the battlefield and issue videotaped calls for the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate.’”
This week Islamic terrorists kidnapped American, French, British, Japanese and Norwegian citizens, together with many Algerians, working at an internationally managed natural gas field in Algeria, killing numerous people.  According to The New York Times, “Energy experts expressed concern that the Algerian raid could signal a new strategy by Islamic militants to attack the West by focusing on Western-operated oil and gas facilities in the region.  Helima Croft, a Barclays Capital senior geopolitical strategist said if groups like Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ‘decide as a change in tactic they go after Western energy interests, then you have to look at a threat in all these countries.’”
The kidnapping this week in Algeria was masterminded by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who got his terrorist training in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Perhaps the most compelling and illuminating of President Assad’s remarks on January 7 is his reference to the fact that the terrorists now destroying Syria, and proliferating throughout the Middle East, Africa, parts of Asia and elsewhere, were created by the United States (though he does not make specific reference to one Western country) during the Carter administration, which funded, armed and trained pathological killers inculcated with religious fanaticism, a policy which unleashed, with criminal irresponsibility, an army of psychotics for the purpose of destroying the Soviet Union and socialism, in order to increase the exorbitant profits of capitalist oligarchs.
That heinous policy bequeathed to us a now uncontrollable scourge of terrorists which are not only claiming the lives of thousands of Syrian civilians and government officials, but as these barbarians inflict their sharia law, which violates every civilized protection guaranteed by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world is being driven back to the most primitive stage.  Amputations of limbs, floggings and flaying to death, blinding schoolgirls with acid, stoning young girls to death is the trademark of these terrorists, reminiscent of the darkest ages of the inquisition and medieval superstition
The only force now capable of containing this plague of religious insanity serving as the tool of capitalism, is the Russian-Chinese Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, cognizant of the fact that if the Assad government is overthrown, chaos of unimaginable and devastating force will ensue.  Ironically, in his book “The Grand Chessboard,”  Brzezinski, the architect of the Carter administration policy which armed, trained and funded these Islamic terrorists which have now metastasized, threatening the very core of civilization itself, Carter’s national security adviser cites, as his greatest dread, that very Russian-Chinese alliance which is now the only hope of saving civilization and resisting another world war.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Annex
The letter presented by the Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations is reproduced below.

United Nations S/2012/867

Security Council Distr.: General

3 December 2012

Original: English

12-62458 (E) 061212 071212

*1262458*

Identical letters dated 21 November 2012 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Upon instructions from my Government, in the light of the ongoing terrorist attacks that have been conducted by the armed terrorist groups in the Syrian ArabRepublic, and following our previous letters, I am transmitting herewith a list that contains the names of 143 foreign and Arab individuals who were killed in Syria while carrying out their terrorist activities. The list includes information about each individual’s name, age, date and place of death, and nationality.

The majority of the individuals entered the Syrian Arab Republic illegally, and they hold different nationalities, such as Qatari, Saudi Arabian, Tunisian, Egyptian, Sudanese, Libyan, Afghani, Jordanian, Turkish, Yemeni, Iraqi, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Kuwaiti,Palestinian, Lebanese, Algerian, Chadian and Pakistani (see annex).

It would be greatly appreciated if the present letter and its annex could be issued as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Bashar Ja’afari

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

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[Original: Arabic]

[Annexed to the letter]

[List of Arrested Mercenaries involved in Terrorist Acts]

No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

1 Palestinian Syrian Muhammad Sulayman Ibn Khidr Wasna Killed while attacking the Khanasir area

and its police station in Safirah, Aleppo

2 February 2012

2 Libyan Safwan Abdullah al-Affani (age 40) Killed with other terrorists in the Kafr

Karmin forest and interred in Anjarah,

Aleppo

7 August 2012

3 Afghan Abu Abdullah (age 37) Killed with other terrorists in Dar Ta‘izzah,

Aleppo

11 September 2012

4 Afghan Abu Ayyub al-Aridi (age 61) Killed with other terrorists in Dar Ta‘izzah,

Aleppo

11 September 2012

5 Tunisian Al-Marzuq Billah (age 41) Killed with other terrorists in Dar Ta‘izzah,

Aleppo

11 September 2012

6 Egyptian Also known as “Abu Imad” (Al-Qaida) Killed with other terrorists in Dar Ta‘izzah,

Aleppo

11 September 2012

7 Sudanese Abdurahman al-Ibrahim (Al-Qaida) Killed with other terrorists in Dar Ta‘izzah,

Aleppo

11 September 2012

8 Tunisian Nasir Abdullah Abu al-Walid (Al-Qaida) Killed while driving a stolen tank in front

of the artillery corps in Aleppo

11 September 2012

9 Libyan Abu Khalid (age 37, Al-Qaida) Killed in a stolen tank in front of the

artillery corps in Aleppo

11 September 2012

10 Afghan Abu Qatadah (age 45, sniper) Killed in Ibizimu as a result of clashes with

the Army

14 September 2012

11 Libyan Abu Khalil, aka “al-Mukhadram” (age 43) Killed with other terrorists as a result of

clashes with the Army in Atarib

16 September 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

12 Tunisian Also known as “Sheikh of the

Revolutionaries” (age 48) (Al-Qaida)

Killed with other terrorists as a result of

clashes with the Army in the countryside

near Atarib

22 September 2012

13 Afghan Al-Nasir Sayf al-Din (age 41) Killed while attacking a missile battery in

Aleppo

30 September 2012

14 Libyan Husayn Muhammad Sabir, mother Layla

(born 1976)

Killed with other terrorists in the Sayf

al-Dawlah quarter, Aleppo

20 August 2012

15 Libyan Abu al-Qasim Killed during clashes in the town of

Bashqatin, Aleppo

28 August 2012

16 Yemeni Mus‘ab Muhammad Abdullah al-Huthi Nusrah Front and Jihad hideout targeted in

the Kallasah quarter, Aleppo

19 September 2012

17 Saudi Arabian Hassan al-Shamri Nusrah Front and Jihad hideout targeted in

the Kallasah quarter, Aleppo

19 September 2012

18 Saudi Arabian Khalid al-Zahrani Nusrah Front and Jihad hideout targeted in

the Kallasah quarter, Aleppo

19 September 2012

19 Qatari Sabir Hajim Fardan Nusrah Front and Jihad hideout targeted in

the Kallasah quarter, Aleppo

19 September 2012

20 Afghan Muskhayif Izz al-Islam Nusrah Front and Jihad hideout targeted in

the Kallasah quarter, Aleppo

19 September 2012

21 Afghan Muskhayif Shayshin Nusrah Front and Jihad hideout targeted in

the Kallasah quarter, Aleppo

19 September 2012

22 Egyptian Abu al-Abbas from Giza Terrorist group targeted in Qabtan al Jabal,

Aleppo

19 September 2012

23 Jordanian Sattam Tarawinah Terrorist group targeted at the Qadi Askar

roundabout in Aleppo

21 September 2012

24 Turkish Qushar Terrorist group targeted in the town of

Bashqatin, Aleppo

21 September 2012

25 Libyan Abu Hamza al-Libi (age 51) Terrorist group targeted in the town of

Bashqatin, Aleppo

20 September 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

26 Saudi Arabian Abdulaziz Sulayman (age 41) Terrorist group targeted in the town of Kafr

Naha, Aleppo

24 September 2012

27 Saudi Arabian Fayyad Abdulaziz Abdullah Terrorist group targeted in Khan al-Asal,

Aleppo

27 September 2012

28 Saudi Arabian Also known as “al-Harithi” Terrorist hideout targeted in Aleppo 4 October 2012

29 Saudi Arabian Abdulkarim al-Zayd Terrorist gathering targeted in the west of

Rif Halab

4 October 2012

30 Libyan Abu Qaysar (age 28) Terrorist gathering targeted in Atarib,

Aleppo

8 October 2012

31 Saudi Arabian Abdulaziz Hamid al-Anzi Terrorist gathering targeted in Atarib,

Aleppo

8 October 2012

32 Iraqi Mahmud Tallal al-Fahd (age 37) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

9 October 2012

33 Saudi Arabian Khalaf al-Sawwan Ibn Sayf al-Din Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

9 October 2012

34 Qatari Sufyan Faysal al-Zubaydi Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

10 October 2012

35 Saudi Arabian Abdullah al-Rathyan (age 41) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

10 October 2012

36 Saudi Arabian Safwan Abdullah Barhumi Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

11 October 2012

37 Saudi Arabian Abdulaziz al-Nayif (age 49) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

12 October 2012

38 Yemeni Salih al-Ma‘yuf (age 41) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

12 October 2012

39 Egyptian Riyad al-Sarhan (aka “the Leopard”,

approximately age 40)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

13 October 2012

40 Saudi Arabian Khalil Abdulaziz (age 31, aka “Abu

Jawad”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

13 October 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

41 Egyptian Izz al-Din al-Masri (age 37, aka “Abu

Najm”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

13 October 2012

42 Afghan Sayf al-Din Shakir (age 43, aka “the Drill”) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

14 October 2012

43 Saudi Arabian Satuf al-Sa‘i (age 38, aka “Abu A’ishah”) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an

14 October 2012

44 Qatari Hamid Abdulaziz (age 45, aka

“al-Mukhadram”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

15 October 2012

45 Egyptian Abdulbari al-Samid (age 37, aka “Abu

Sufyan)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

15 October 2012

46 Yemeni Isma‘il al-Ridwan (age 42, aka “Abu

Ziyad”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

16 October 2012

47 Saudi Arabian Nasir Abdulaziz al-Farim Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

16 October 2012

48 Azerbaijani Khasin Kazili (age 40) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

17 October 2012

49 Egyptian Abu Ubaydah al-Masri (age 43) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

17 October 2012

50 Saudi Arabian Hamud al-Alyan (age 41, aka “Abu

Salma”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

18 October 2012

51 Saudi Arabian Abdulwahid al-Najafi (age 45, aka “Sheikh

of the Revolutionaries”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

18 October 2012

52 Qatari Riyad Sulayman al-Na’if (age 36) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

18 October 2012

53 Saudi Arabian Isa al-Fayyad Abu al-Abd (age 38) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

18 October 2012

54 Libyan Ziyad Misrati (age 42, aka “Abu

al-Qasim”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

18 October 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

55 Qatari Abu Dawud al-Qatari (age 42, aka

“al-Faruq”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

20 October 2012

56 Pakistani Jaki Sharif (age 45) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside near Atarib and Sim‘an

22 October 2012

57 Afghan Al-Muntasir Billah (age 36) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside near Atarib and Sim‘an

22 October 2012

58 Saudi Arabian Abdulaziz al-Mut‘ab (age 40, aka “Abu

Hamza”)

Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

23 October 2012

59 Qatari Subh al-Mash‘al (age 36) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

23 October 2012

60 Libyan Uklah al-Qasimi (age 43) Terrorist gathering targeted in the

countryside west of Sim‘an and Atarib

25 October 2012

61 Saudi Arabian Talal al-Muhjam (age 43) Killed during a violation of the Id al-Adha

truce

26 October 2012

62 Egyptian Abdulwahhab bin Ibrahim (age 35) Killed during the attack on 46th battalion

in Atarib

27 October 2012

63 Afghan Nur al-Din (age 47, aka “Abu Hamza”) Killed during the attack on 46th battalion

in Atarib

27 October 2012

64 Iraqi Isma‘il al-Kurdi (age 35) Killed during the attack on 46th battalion

in Atarib

27 October 2012

65 Chechen Islamov (age 43) Killed during the attack on 46th battalion

in Atarib

27 October 2012

66 Kuwaiti Abdullah Abdulsattar (age 41, aka

“al-Akid”)

Killed during the attack on 46th battalion

in Atarib

30 October 2012

67 Egyptian Dawud al-Masri (age 38, aka “Abu

Abdulrahman”)

Killed during the attack on 46th battalion

in Atarib

30 October 2012

68 Iraqi Also known as “Abu Ja‘far al-Iraqi” (age

40)

Killed when a terrorist convoy was targeted

in the town of Urum al-Kubra

31 October 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

69 Saudi Arabian Muhammad Salim (age 38, aka “Abu

al-Umar”)

Killed in western Rif Halab 2 November 2012

70 Iraqi Abdulrahman al-Sabak (age 32) Killed in western Rif Halab 3 November 2012

71 Saudi Arabian Ayyub Abdulaziz al-Mu‘ti (age 38) Killed in western Rif Halab 3 November 2012

72 Libyan Al-Mu‘tazz Billah (age 25, aka “Abu Ali”) Killed in western Rif Halab 6 November 2012

73 Saudi Arabian Abdulrazzaq Qasim al-Khalid (age 37,

Al-Qaida)

Killed a number of terrorists in Khan

al-Asal, Aleppo

7 November 2012

74 Egyptian Abu Maryam al-Masri (age 25, Al-Qaida) Killed with a number of other terrorists in

the Aleppo area

8 November 2012

75 Libyan Awad al-Karabi (age 26, Al-Qaida) Killed with a number of other terrorists in

the Aleppo area

8 November 2012

76 Saudi Arabian Fa’iz Munawar al-Rumali (Al-Qaida) Killed with a number of other terrorists in

Aleppo

10 November 2012

77 Saudi Arabian Sulayman Abu Tallal Killed with a number of other terrorists in

the Aleppo area

12 November 2012

78 Sudanese Abu Sharahbil Killed with a number of other terrorists in

the Marjah quarter, Aleppo

15 November 2012

79 Libyan Abu Hudhayfah Killed with a number of other terrorists in

the Marjah quarter, Aleppo

15 November 2012

80 Palestinian Mahmud Ahmad Shatiti Killed with other terrorists in Bab Hud in

Homs

6 July 2012

81 Lebanese Walid Ramzi al-Kurdi Killed with other terrorists in the town of

Nazariyah, Homs

6 July 2012

82 Lebanese Salah Matr Killed with other terrorists in the town of

Jusiyah Homs

22 August 2012

83 Lebanese Hamud Amun Killed with other terrorists in the town of

Jusiyah, Homs

22 August 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

84 Lebanese Usamah Amun Killed with other terrorists in Madinat

al-Hisn, Homs

22 August 2012

85 Lebanese Khalid Asbar “Abu al-Mawt” Killed with other terrorists in Madinat

al-Husn, Homs

14 August 2012

86 Saudi Arabian Yusuf Muhammad Ali al-Salimi Killed in Kafr Laha with seven other Arab

terrorists, including the Saudi Arabian Abu

Ali al-Khuzami

9 November 2012

87 Saudi Arabian Umar Jadu‘ Ubayd Killed with other terrorists in Bab Hud in

Homs

14 November 2012

88 Libyan Muhammad al-Riyani Killed with other terrorists in Bab Hud in

Homs

14 November 2012

89 Libyan Salih Muhammad al-Hasi Killed with other terrorists in Bab Hud in

Homs

14 November 2012

90 Libyan Salih al-Sannusi Killed with other terrorists in Bab Hud in

Homs

14 November 2012

91 Saudi Arabian Muhammad Khalid al-Dusari Killed with other terrorists in the

Khalidiyah quarter, Homs

16 November 2012

92 Saudi Arabian Abdulqadir al-Jisri Killed with other terrorists in the

Khalidiyah quarter, Homs

16 November 2012

93 Saudi Arabian Muhammad Awad al-Khalidi Killed with other terrorists in the

Khalidiyah quarter, Homs

16 November 2012

94 Libyan Miftah al-Sannusi Killed with other terrorists in the

Khalidiyah quarter, Homs

16 November 2012

95 Libyan Salih al-Bar‘asi Killed with other terrorists in the

Khalidiyah quarter, Homs

16 November 2012

96 Turkish Qasim Qandazdar Killed with other terrorists in the

Khalidiyah quarter, Homs

16 November 2012

97 Saudi Arabian Wardan al-Ha’ili Killed with other terrorists in the

Khalidiyah quarter, Homs

16 November 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

98 Saudi Arabian Khalif Ahmad al-Khalidi Killed with other terrorists in the

Khalidiyah quarter, Homs

16 November 2012

99 Saudi Arabian Muhammad Khalid al-Ruwayli Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

100 Saudi Arabian Abdulbari Ajman Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

101 Saudi Arabian Khalid Afsh al-Bakkar Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

102 Saudi Arabian Hamad Yusuf al-Abud Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

103 Saudi Arabian Suhayb al-Jarih Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

104 Saudi Arabian Malik Naqqash Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

105 Tunisian Walid al-Bar Hasan Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

106 Tunisian Jadallah Muhammad Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

107 Algeria Abdulqadir Kashkul Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

108 Chadian Salih Abdulhayy Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

109 Jordanian Abdullah Makki Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

110 Libyan Awad Salih al-Sannusi Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

111 Libyan Farhan al-Sannusi Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

112 Libyan Qays al-Wardani Killed with other terrorists in the Warshah

quarter, Homs

17 November 2012

113 Tunisian Sa‘ud Qurashi Car containing terrorists targeted in Aleppo 29 August 2012

114 Tunisian Badawi Bakkar Car containing terrorists targeted in Aleppo 29 August 2012

115 Tunisian Sari al-Baradini Car containing terrorists targeted in Aleppo 29 August 2012

116 Kuwaiti Salim al-Anzi Car containing terrorists targeted in Aleppo 29 August 2012

117 Libyan Uthman al-Naba‘i Killed at a terrorist training centre in Dayr

al-Zawr

2 September 2012

118 Saudi Arabian Zafir al-Ujaymi Killed with other terrorists in Dayr al-Zawr 13 September 2012

119 Tunisian Jallal al-Tunisi Killed with other terrorists in Dayr al-Zawr 14 September 2012

120 Yemeni Yahya Salih al-Subhan Killed with elements of the Nusrah Front in

Dayr al-Zawr

26 September 2012

121 Saudi Arabian Ibrahim Bakhitan Arar Killed with other terrorists in Basrah

al-Sham

25 July 2012

122 Tunisian Al-Hadi bin Bashir al-Qadiri (born 1984) In the town of Badama at Jisr ash Shughur 28 February 2012

123 Libyan Ali al-Awjali (aka “Abu Nasir”) Killed with other terrorists in Idlib 30 August 2012

124 Saudi Arabian Hamid al-Anzi While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

125 Saudi Arabian Muhammad Salim al-Harbi While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

126 Saudi Arabian Abullah al-Dusari While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

127 Saudi Arabian Khalid Hamad al-Nasir While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

128 Saudi Arabian Amir Dakhil al-Jahn While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

129 – Muzahim Abdulrahman al-Aythami While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

130 Saudi Arabian Abduljabbar Jarrah While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

131 Turkish Nihat Sagdic While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

132 Turkish M. Ollaz Kuvdish While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

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No. Nationality Name and surname Incident Date

133 Turkish Kalbimd Dovca While attacking the oil refinery in Saraqib 11 October 2012

134 Afghan Uthman Mirza During a clash in Saraqib 23 October 2012

135 Afghan Azur al-Din Murad During a clash in Saraqib 23 October 2012

136 Chechen Abu Barra’ al-Shayshani During a clash in Saraqib 25 October 2012

137 Saudi Arabian Fahd al-Zabyani During a clash at Mahmabil, Idlib 17 October 2012

138 Chechen Ihsan Killed at a terrorist training centre in Dayr

al-Zawr

2 September 2012

139 Libyan Siraj Killed at a terrorist training centre in Dayr

al-Zawr

2 September 2012

140 Libyan Al-Shaykh Mahdi, aka “Abu Salma” Killed with other terrorists during

destruction of a car bomb in Husayniyyah

School in Dayr al-Zawr

17 September 2012

141 Iraqi Adham Iraqi car carrying arms and ammunition

destroyed in Albu Kamal

22 September 2012

142 Iraqi Abu Qatadah, “Mufti of the Terrorists” Killed with other terrorists at the Suluk

School in Tall Abyad

11 October 2012

143 Saudi Arabian Shaykh Abu Mu‘adh Killed with other terrorists at the Suluk

School in Tall Abyad

11 October 2012

NATO’s War Plans For The High North. The Militarization of the Arctic Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea

NATO’s War Plans For The High North. The Militarization of the Arctic

Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea

Since the beginning of the year [2009] the United States and NATO have repeatedly indicated in both word and deed their intention to lay claim to and extend their military presence in what they refer to as the High North: The Arctic Circle and the waters connecting with it, the Barents and the Norwegian Seas, as well as the Baltic.
Washington issued National Security Presidential Directive 66 on January 12, 2009 which includes the bellicose claim that “The United States has broad and fundamental national security interests in the Arctic region [which] include such matters as missile defense and early warning; deployment of sea and air systems for strategic sealift, strategic deterrence, maritime presence, and maritime security operations.” [1] Later in the same month the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] held a two-day Seminar on Security Prospects in the High North in the capital of Iceland attended by the bloc’s secretary general and its top military commanders.
This coordinated initiative has been covered in a previous article in this series [2] and plans by the West to encroach on Arctic territory and confront Russia in the western region of the ocean have been addressed in another. [3]
Over the past month efforts by NATO member states, individually and collectively, to increase their military presence and warfighting ability in the High North have accelerated dramatically.
Sweden: NATO’s Testing Ground And Battleground
The alarming and aggressive campaign is exemplified by the ongoing 10-day Loyal Arrow 2009 NATO military exercises being conducted in Sweden, described by a major American daily newspaper as “A NATO rapid-reaction force…on a war footing in Swedish Lapland” which consists of “Ten countries, 2,000 troops, a strike aircraft carrier, and 50 fighter jets -  including the US Air Force’s F-15 Eagle…participating in war games near contested Arctic territories.”
The same source reflects that “Choosing this place for war games reflects the growing strategic importance of the Arctic, which is estimated to contain a quarter of the Earth’s oil and gas….” [4]
A NATO website offers these details:

“Ten NATO and non-NATO nations will participate in the live flying exercise LAW 09 in Sweden from 8 to 18 June 2009. Some 50 fast jets, which will be based at Norrbotten Wing, Sweden will participate in the exercise. The aim of the exercise is to train units and selected parts of the NATO Response Force Joint Force Air Component Headquarters in the coordination and conduct of air operations. Additionally, NATO Airborne Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft, as well as other transport aircraft and helicopters, will support the exercise. Some of the participating units will be flying in from bases in Norway and Finland.
“The exercise is based upon a fictitious scenario. Within this scenario, elements of the NATO Response Force (NRF)…will be deployed to a theatre of operations. The NRF was created to provide the Alliance with an effective tool to face the new security threats of the 21st century. It is a rapidly deployable, multinational and joint force with modern equipment able to carry out the full range of Alliance missions whenever and wherever needed, as tasked by the North Atlantic Council.
“About 800-900 troops from Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and the United States as well as NATO’s airborne early warning component will participate.” [5]

US Air Force personnel flew in from the US-used base in Mildenhall, England and “Air and ground crews from United States Air Forces in Europe joined military units from about 10 other nations June 8….” [6]
The war games are based in the Bothnian Bay in the Northern Baltic Sea and are the largest display of air power in the area’s history.
On the first day of the exercises, June 8, it was reported that “The NATO-led air force drill Loyal Arrow started in Northern Sweden today. The British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious [with 1,000 soldiers] reached the Bothnia Bay. 50 airplanes and 2,000 persons, aircraft carrier personnel included, from ten countries will take part in what will be the biggest air force drill ever in the Finnish-Swedish Bothnia Bay.” [7]
Sweden’s Lulea airbase and Norway’s at Bodo and Finland’s at Oulu are being employed for the NATO war games.
Loyal Arrow is centered on a “fictitious scenario” in which “the NATO Response Force (NRF) [is] deployed to a theatre of operations, Lapistan.
“Lapistan is a fictitious undemocratic, unstable country that is ruled by a military clique which hosts terrorist training camps. The exercise’s scenario is centered over a conflict over oil and natural gas with Bothnia, a fictitious neighboring NATO country, with some presence of nearby neutral fictitious countries Nordistan and Suomia, who refer to Norway and Finland, respectively.” [8]
As the war games were getting underway Stefan Lindgren, vice chairman of Afghan Solidarity in Sweden, filed a complaint with the official ombudsman for discrimination matters and stated that the NATO exercise was both a defamation of the Sami people and also Muslims in Sweden. The “istan” ending reveals a mental connection with NATO’s war in Afghanistan.
The indigenous people of the region, the Sami, protested against the racist term “Laps” – forbidden in Sweden – and also against the description of the exercise. [9]
A mainstream newspaper elaborated on the controversy in reporting that “The main indigenous people of Northern Sweden, the Sami, are discontented with the fact that the ‘enemy nation’ in the exercise’s scenario is called ‘Lapistan’ and have joined the protesters against NATO in the demonstrations. The name is invented by NATO and resembles the derogatory term for Sami people, ‘Lapps’”. [10]

The American Christian Science Monitor followed up on the story on June 11 with the following quotes:
“‘These exercises increase the risk of a conflict,’ says Anna Ek, head of Sweden’s Peace and Arbitration Society. ‘They send out offensive and aggressive signals. Should we really be planning for a conflict with Russia while there is still a window of opportunity for cooperation in the Arctic?’
“‘Neither the Parliament nor the defense committee were informed about the size of this exercise,’ says Peter Radberg, a Green Party member of Parliament. ‘It looks like a serious attempt to market NATO in Sweden….It risks causing a military escalation in a region where we should be disarming.’” [11]

As the first excerpt reveals, not only were the security, livestock and the very status of the Sami people of northern Sweden endangered, but Loyal Arrow 2009, in conjunction with other military exercises and initiatives to be examined later, is directly targeted against Russia, NATO’s only challenger in its drive into and for domination over the Arctic.
The NATO Out of Sweden group organized activities in Lulea (the site of the Swedish airbase used in the drills) and demonstrated against NATO’s use of Norrbotten County as a training ground and firing range for prospective actions at home and abroad.
The organization’s Anna-Karin Gudmundson said, “This [exercise] can be perceived as very provocative. The Barents region with its proximity to the Arctic makes it a sensitive area. With all the talk about melting ice and the fight over natural resources this can look like a demonstration of power from NATO’s side.” [12]
Ofog, another Swedish peace group, announced on June 8 that it was deploying activists to a bombing range near the Vidsel Air Base in Norrbotten to “stop the preparation of war crimes” and to “prevent NATO from bombing the area further.” [13]
The group issued a press release that said “Just like NATO we will be in the air, on the land and in the sea. We will do everything in our power to show NATO that their business is hideous and deadly.

“NATO is not a defensive alliance. It is the world’s largest nuclear weapons club and war machine.” [14]

On the second day of the exercises, June 10th, five members of Ofog were arrested after penetrating the bombing range.
Six more members were arrested as the NATO bombing continued and one of the Ofog activists at the range, Miriam Cordts, said: “NATO is the world’s biggest war machine and nuclear weapons club. This aerial exercise in northern Sweden is their largest this year and is designed to make the NATO Response Force even more able to attack wherever they want. 90% of those who are killed in NATO’s wars are civilians. It is our responsibility as human beings to do all we can to stop this exercise.” [15]
The Ofog activists’ intention was to bring a halt to the bombing with their presence, but the NATO exercise continued.
A spokesman for the group commented, “We know that NATO bombs civilians, but this is the first time they have threatened to bomb civilians in Sweden” [16]
Sweden, though not yet a full member of NATO, is hosting the exercises through obligations to the Alliance’s Partnership for Peace program and in doing so advancing ever closer to complete NATO integration despite opposition by the majority of Swedes.
Sweden In NATO: Neutrality Is Past Tense

The groundwork for Sweden’s incorporation into NATO has been methodically planned for years.
In mid-May Member of Parliament and Liberal Party foreign policy spokesperson Birgitta Ohlsson stated that “For me, and for the Liberal Party (Folkpartiet), it is more evident than ever before that Sweden should be a member of NATO. Political parties can’t just follow public opinion, they have to influence it too – and isolationism is very passe.” [17]
Shortly thereafter the nation’s defense minister, Sten Tolgfors, announced the “biggest restructuring of Sweden’s armed forces in modern times” and that “Sweden will, for the first time in many decades, have one defense organization.”
What he meant was defined more clearly when he added, “Today, we have a force with one organization for national use, based on a conscript system, and another for international use, based on standing units.

“We will reform our defense based on the lessons we learned from our lead-nation position with the Nordic Battle Group. We will have a battle-group-based defense in the future.
“We have built the Nordic Battle Group together. We are together with Finland in Afghanistan.”
That Afghanistan wasn’t the only rationale behind Sweden’s increased militarization and integration into NATO structures was revealed when Tolgfors, while speaking of the Loyal Arrow exercises in June, said, “Russia has certainly raised its tone of voice over the last couple of years….” [18]

Two days later he visited NATO Headquarters in Brussels where he met with Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and “briefed the Secretary General on the upcoming transformation of Sweden’s defence capabilities, which should make Swedish forces more efficient, more deployable and more capable of conducting international operations.” [19]
Four days before NATO launched the Loyal Arrow war games, Sweden’s ambassador to France, Gunnar Lund, “speaking on behalf of Sweden’s foreign minister Carl Bildt,” promoted the use of a five-nation Nordic contingent of the European Union’s battle groups (to function under NATO’s lead through the Berlin Plus and related agreements) in saying “On the military side, I would like to draw your attention to the use of battle groups – a potentially very useful tool to the support of international peace and security.”
The Swedish government regretted that the EU hadn’t earlier employed the Nordic battle group – with forces from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland and Estonia – and “did not give the green light to sending it to Chad and the Central African Republic last year.” [20]
(Sweden, Finland and Ireland are three-fifths of Europe’s remaining – nominal – neutral nations, the other two being Switzerland and Austria. All five have now deployed military contingents of varying sizes to serve under NATO in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. In Switzerland a peace group, Switzerland without an Army, “accus[ing] the government of trying to move neutral Switzerland to the NATO military alliance,” recently turned in over 100,000 signatures – the amount required to introduce legislation in the parliament – to the federal government against a proposed purchase of new fighter jets, to insure NATO interoperability.)
1,300 Kilometer Border With Russia: NATO Integrates Finland
Last month a meeting of the Nordic Defence Ministerial [the defense chiefs of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland; there is also a joint Nordic-Baltic Defence Ministerial) occurred in Finland where the defense ministries of the five nations "discussed security developments in Northern Europe and exchanged views on the ongoing national defence transformation processes" and "evaluated common challenges in Africa and Afghanistan."
"The ministers discussed developments in the High North and possibilities for Nordic cooperation there.

"Similarly, they analyzed possibilities for enhanced Nordic cooperation in the Baltic Sea." [21]

This came shortly after “Former Norwegian foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg…concluded in a report on Nordic defence cooperation that the five Nordic countries should strengthen security cooperation in the Arctic….” [22]
Less than a week later US Air Force pilots were in Finland to train their counterparts in air refueling procedures of the sort used for long-distance missions and warfare.
According to the operations officer of the Finnish Air Force’s 21st Fighter Squadron, “a captain who asked to remain anonymous due to government policy,” the week-long exercises with Navy F-18 Hornets and an Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, “help[ed] the squadron, and the service as a whole, meet a government requirement to be able to deploy outside Finland to support NATO forces. Although Finland is not a member of NATO, it is a part of the organization’s Partnership of Peace program, which USAFE [U.S. Air Forces in Europe] also supports.
“This opens our eyes to a much wider operating area.”
The report from which the above comes informed readers that “It’s the first time U.S. Air Forces in Europe has deployed a tanker team to Finland for an air-to-air refueling operation.” [23]
On May 25 of this year the Finnish foreign trade and development minister, Paavo Vayrynen of the Centre Party, said his party’s partner in the ruling coalition, the conservative National Coalition Party, “had mounted a sustained campaign to mould public opinion behind NATO membership.” [24]
Similar initiatives, concerted and surreptitious, to drag nations into NATO against the will of a clear majority of their populations are underway in Sweden and Cyrpus, inter alia.
From June 1-4 NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT), based in Norfolk, Virginia, and the Finnish Defence Forces conducted a NPETN [NATO & Partners' Education and Training Portal] in Helsinki.
A Turkish air force colonel assigned to NPETN described the program as “basically a human network that provides a venue to the members
including the NATO Defense College, Joint Warfare Centre, Joint Force Training Centre, NATO School, NATO Communications and Information Systems School, NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre, NATO Centres of Excellence, and NATO and Partner Nation’s military education and training centres.” [25]
The three-day conference wasn’t a bilateral affair between NATO’s headquarters in the United States and Finland, however, as it took in nations from no fewer than five continents.
“For the first time in conference history, a representative from Australia, a NATO Contact Country, will attend the discussions.”
The same Turkish NATO representative quoted earlier said, “The conference gives us the opportunity to reach our goals because we will have more input from our Partner Nations, representatives from NATO, Partnership for Peace (PfP), Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), Contact Countries (CC).” [26]
With NATO’s 28 full members, 25 Partnership for Peace candidates, seven members of the Mediterranean Dialogue, six of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative [the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council) and several Contact Countries like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, etc., the number adds up to nearly a third of the 192 nations in the world.
On the day after the NATO conference in Finland's capital ended, the nation's police arrested six peace activists for painting NATO symbols in - blood - red on the walls of the Finnish Defence Command headquarters in Helsinki.
The group, Muurinmurtajat, released a statement saying "it wanted to draw attention to how the practical work of bringing Finland militarily closer to NATO is being done at the Defence Command." [27]
Five days later the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Finland on defense technology.

“Finland is a long-standing participant in the NATO Partnership for Peace programme with a strong track record of contributing to NATO missions and exercises.
“Sweden was the first partner country to sign a similar agreement with NC3A in 2007.” [28] On the same day the Finnish armed forces began “their largest military exercise in decades.”
Maanvyory 2009 (Landslide 2009) includes “18,000 service men, including 7,000 reservists from all three branches of the service.” [29]

Norway: NATO Moves Its Military Into The Arctic
On June 2nd it was announced that Norway will move its Operational Command Headquarters from the south of the nation at Stavanger north to Reitan outside Bodo, “thus making Norway the first country to move its military command leadership to the Arctic.”

“The move is in line with the Government’s increased focus on the northern regions. With the new location above the Arctic Circle, Norway’s supreme operational command will gain first hand contact with all questions concerning the High North.” [30]

During a meeting of NATO parliamentarians in Oslo from May 22-26 NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer held meetings with Prime Minister Stoltenberg, Foreign Minister Store and Defence Minister Strom-Erichsen and had an audience with King Harald V. “Discussions focused on NATO’s post-summit agenda, including the upcoming update of the Alliance Strategic Concept, relations with Russia and new security challenges facing Allies.” [31]
At the same meeting of NATO parliamentarians Norwegian cabinet members told the participants that “NATO should increase its role in the High North,” with State Secretary for Defence Espen Barth Eide insisting “that the High North should be addressed by the next reorganisation of the NATO command structure….” [32]
Norwegian Ambassador to NATO, Kim Traavik, escorted the ambassadors of five fellow NATO countries on a “study trip” to the north of the country after the parliamentarian meeting ended to inspect the site of the intended future conflict.
A week before, Norwegian Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Strom- Erichsen “outlined the importance of shaping a common position in defence and security matters concerning the High North. The Minister particularly called for ‘strengthening the relevance of NATO.’ Considering Russia’s recent push in its military and economic spheres in the Arctic Sea, Strom-Erichsen sees a worrying potential for a possible destabilisation in the region.” [33]
The defense chief in her own words:

“The Alliance is at the core of the security and defence strategies of all but one Arctic Ocean state. It therefore cannot avoid defining its role in the area. The challenge will be to devise policies that address fundamental Western security interests….” [34]
At the current time NATO’s Allied Command Transformation is conducting a CWID [Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration] in Lillehammer, Norway from June 1-26 “with particular emphasis on those that would be deployed with NATO-led operations such as Article 5 Response, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Active Endeavour, Kosovo Force or within a NATO Response Force (NRF)….” [35]

An Article 5 response means activating NATO’s collective military assistance provision as has been done with the nearly eight-year-old Afghan war.
On June 6th it was reported that Norway had established an historical record in arms exports and that “Most of the export of Norwegian defence material goes to NATO member nations and to Sweden and Finland.” [36]
Further Encroachment On Russia: NATO In The Baltic Sea
It was reported late last month that NATO would continue its rotational air patrols over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania until at least 2020. [37] As has been mentioned by Russian officials, the NATO warplanes involved are a five-minute flight from Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg.
The Baltic Eagle NATO Response Force (NRF-14) multinational exercise is being conducted from June 2-18 in the Adazi Military Area in Latvia to prepare the Baltic Battalion of Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian armed forces “to test the combat readiness level of the unit.”

“According to the exercise scenario, the troops will deploy into the region of a military conflict and will conduct a wide scale of operations….A significant number of modern weaponry and equipment, including third generation Spike anti-tank guided missiles, modern heavy SISU 8×8 multi purpose transporters, SISU armored personnel carriers, personal assault rifles G36, and others, will be used in the exercise….”

The Baltic Battalion is a component of the NATO Response Force which in turn “is a highly ready and technologically advanced force of the Alliance made up of land, air, sea and special forces components that can deploy quickly wherever needed. It is self-sustainable and capable of performing missions worldwide across the whole spectrum of operations.” [38]
During the same period the US Navy is has been leading the annual Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercises in the region.

“Maritime forces from 12 countries will participate in the largest multinational naval exercise this year in the Baltic Sea June 8-19.
“The Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise is an annual event aimed at improving interoperability and cooperation among regional allies” and this years includes naval forces from the US, Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.” [39]

Present are US Rear Adm. John N. Christenson, commander of the Carrier Strike Group 12, and Swedish Rear Adm. Anders Grenstad, commander of the Maritime Component Command and “the Swedish equivalent of the U.S. Navy’s chief of naval operations.” [40]
Five days before BALTOPS 2009 began, the USS Mount Whitney – the flagship of the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet and the command and control ship for the Commander Joint Command Lisbon and the Commander Striking Force NATO, deployed against Russia in the Black Sea after last August’s Caucasus war – arrived off the coast of Lithuania and hosted American expatriate and current Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus.
The latter used the occasion to affirm that “On behalf of the entire nation, the Mount Whitney’s presence is significant to the entire country. It shows respect, provides additional strength and belief to fight for their commitment, but most importantly, the solidarity of the NATO community.”
The US commander responded with, “I would like to publicly thank Lithuania for their [sic] support in Kosovo, Iraq, and especially Afghanistan.” [41]
German Navy, Air Force Return To Neighborhood Of Leningrad
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung toured the Baltics last week and met with his Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts to “discuss…pressing issues within NATO and the European Union” and to “strengthen the well-functioning security relations with the three Baltic states.” [42]
German warplanes are to take over the NATO Baltic patrol later this year, which is sure to conjure up memories among those in St. Petersburg old enough to have survived the 900-day siege of the city when it was Leningrad.
As is the arrival of the German navy recently. “A German auxiliary repair ship, one of 10 German units, provides support to more than 40 allied ships participating in [the] Baltic Operations exercise 2009 here….” [43]
NATO’s Main Base On The Baltic: Poland
In mid-May a senior Polish defense official stated that “Poland expects a U.S. Patriot battery to be deployed on its soil in 2009 regardless of whether President Barack Obama opts to press ahead with missile defence plans in Europe” and urged NATO “not to neglect potential security threats closer to home in Europe and…expressed [the Polish government's] willingness to host alliance infrastructure.” [44]
Washington was quick to oblige: “The U.S. Department of State has confirmed that the Patriot missile battery will be deployed in Poland regardless of what happens with plans for the missile shield system.” [45]
Three days later the Financial Times reported that in relation to the Pentagon stationing Patriot missiles in Poland “talks were on track for the completion of final agreements in July, followed by a deployment of 100-110 US soldiers and 196 missiles by the year-end.”
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Komorowski was quoted as saying, “This will be the first time US soldiers are stationed on Polish soil, other than those who come under NATO control, on exercises for example….This will be symbolic for Poland.” [46]
In early June Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk affirmed “that Poland had not changed its mind about the U. S. anti-missile shield,” [47] specifically the stationing of 10 American ground-based interceptor missiles in Redzikowo, northern Poland, site of a former Nazi German Luftwaffe airbase, another historical parallel that should make any informed and sensible Russian nervous.
Late last week Polish government spokesman Pawel Gras said that “the bilateral agreement on the deployment of a U.S.-sponsored anti-missile shield in Poland provided for the delivery of a combat-ready battery” and that planned US Patriot missiles would be “armed and stationed permanently.” [48]
On the same day Poland’s Defense Minister Bogdan Klich “announced that NATO will locate the Joint Battle Command Centre in Bydgoszcz, northern Poland, following a decision by defense ministers at a NATO meeting in Brussels.” [49] The Joint Battle Command Centre will be added to the NATO Joint Forces Training Centre already in Bydgoszcz.
The meeting of NATO defense chiefs was held in Brussels on June 11 and included the defense ministers of all 28 NATO and 22 partner states; the heads of fifty national militaries discussed the war in Afghanistan, the occupation of the Serbian province of Kosovo, naval operations off the coast of Somalia and the Georgian-Russian conflict in the South Caucasus.
The defense chiefs of half a hundred nations not only discussed military operations in three continents but in addition “members of the Nuclear Planning Group held consultations on key current issues related to the Alliance’s nuclear policy.” [50]
The central component of NATO’s 21st Century new Strategic Concept currently being crafted is a continuation and intensification of the bloc’s drive east and Poland is marked for a large share of its military deployments and infrastructure.
Poland’s Defense Minister Klich “highlight[ed] the fact that NATO has decided to heavily invest in Poland by modernizing military infrastructure including air and sea bases.”
The sea bases will be on the Baltic and the air bases within easy striking distance of Russia and its two largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Klich offered details on the plans decided upon by NATO last Thursday in revealing that “The Alliance has made the decision to open a new NATO cell, a new joint regiment within NATO. According to the decision, commanders from three regiments will be located in Bydgoszcz.”
“In Bydgoszcz, we will have the permanent commanders of the battalion and other components: one of the six joint mobile modules, a security component and logistics and support operators.” [51] The unit stationed in Poland will be composed of approximately 200 NATO soldiers.
Several days earlier Klich invited the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Russia’s neighbor Ukraine to join a collective international expeditionary brigade, for alleged peacekeeping operations.

“The Polish defense minister…said that the talks dealt with Ukraine’s cooperation with NATO and the European Union, as well as the countries’ role in military operations, including Ukrainian servicemen’s participation in operations in Afghanistan….The parties also discussed assistance to Ukraine in its efforts to join NATO….
“Ukrainian and Polish defense ministers Yuriy Yekhanurov and Bogdan Klich have invited the Baltic states to join the initiative on the formation of a joint peacekeeping brigade.” [52]

The First American War Against Russia In The Arctic: Lessons Learned And Not Learned
From May 11-21 NATO held the twice-annual Joint Warrior war games – Europe’s largest military exercise – off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea, which connects with the Norwegian Sea bordering the Arctic Ocean.
“More than 20 warships, 75 aircraft and hundreds of personnel were tested in various scenarios” including one in which “a task group of 33 ships and French marines were sent into the fictitious Northern Dispute Zone to tackle the ‘Dragonians’ who had been harassing the ‘Caledonians and Avalonians.

“Soldiers, sailors and air crews from Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and the US were also involved.” [53]

According to the same source the autumn Joint Warrior exercises will be extended from two to three weeks this year.
Regarding American participation in last month’s drills, “USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), USS Porter (DDG 78), USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), USNS Kanawha (T-AO 193), and COMDESRON 24 took part in the scenario-driven engagement, along with vessels from nine other members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO). [The Joint warrior] exercise [is] expected to increase fleet efficiency and battle readiness for U.S. and allied navies alike.” [54]
On the other end of the Arctic, from June 15-26 the US will conduct operation Northern Edge 2009 in Alaska which will include “More than 200 aircraft, including B-52s, F-16s and Blackhawk helicopters….In addition, the USS John C. Stennis and its carrier strike group will be operating out of the Gulf of Alaska during the exercises. The nuclear-powered supercarrier has an air wing of more than 70 aircraft and a crew of 5,000 sailors.” [55]
In a feature from a newspaper in the state of Michigan on May 28th, a review of a documentary film included this commentary on a US military unit deployed to Russia’s Arctic region in the ending days of World War I:

“[The] Polar Bear Expedition saw some 5,500 soldiers sent to Archangel, Russia, near the Arctic Circle, in September 1918, just two months before the armistice would end the war. The expedition took shape after the 1917 Russian Revolution, when Russia signed a separate peace with Germany and pulled out of the war.
“At the urging of Winston Churchill – then in the British war office – President Woodrow Wilson…agreed to furnish troops to support the anti-Communist White Russian army. The Americans and some Canadians, who thought they were headed to France, were placed under British command.”

US Senator Carl Levin was present for the screening of the documentary and told the audience, “There are lessons to be learned in history; there are lessons here….The lesson is we must be clear in our mission.” [56]
There are lessons indeed. US troops fought on Russian soil and ended up on the losing side. This is not the lesson that Levin and the political and military leadership of NATO countries as a whole have learned and so risk repeating them on a far grander and more dangerous scale.
Notes
1) National Security Presidential Directive 66   
   http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-66.htm
2) NATO’s, Pentagon’s New Strategic Battleground: The Arctic
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/message/37104
3) Canada: Battle Line In East-West Conflict Over The Arctic
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/message/39795
4) Christian Science Monitor, June 11, 2009
5) Allied Air Component Command HQ Ramstein, April 9, 2009
6) U.S. Air Forces in Europe, June 8, 2009
7) Barents Observer, June 8, 2009
8) “Lapistan” inte bra sager Nato, Norrbottens-Kuriren via Wikipedia
9) Aftonbladet, June 5 by way of Stefan Lindgren
10) Barents Observer, June 8, 2009
11) Christian Science Monitor, June 11, 2009
12) Sveriges Radio via Barents Observer, June 8, 2009
13) The Local, June 10, 2009
14) The Local, June 8, 2009
15) From Agneta Norberg
16) Ibid
17) The Local, May 12, 2009
18) Defense News, May 17, 2009
19) NATO International, May 19, 2009
20) Agence France-Presse, June 3, 2009
21) Defense Professionals, May 13, 2009
22) Barents Observer, May 12, 2009
23) U.S. Air Forces in Europe, May 18, 2009
24) NewsRoom Finland, May 25, 2009
25) NATO International, Allied Command Transformation, May 29, 2009
26) Ibid
27) Helsinki Times, June 4, 2009
28) NATO International, June 9, 2009
29) Finnish Broadcasting Company, June 9, 2009
30) Barents Observer, June 2, 2009
31) NATO International, May 26, 2009
32) Jane’s Defence Weekly, June 1, 2009
33) Norwegian Ministry of Defence, May 14, 2009
34) Ibid
35) NATO International, Allied Command Transformation, May 18, 2009
36) Norway Post, June 6, 2009
37) Defense News, May 28, 2009
38) Lithuania Ministry of National Defence, May 28, 2009
39) U.S. Naval Forces Europe, Navy NewsStand, June 6, 2009
40) Ibid
41) United States European Command, June 3, 2009
42) United Press International, June 9, 2009
43) U.S. Naval Forces Europe, June 11, 2009
44) Reuters, May 18, 2009
45) Warsaw Voice, June 3, 2009
46) Financial Times, May 21, 2009
47) Trend News Agency, June 3, 2009
48) Xinhua News Agency, June 12, 2009
49) Polish Radio, June 12, 2009
50) NATO International, June 11, 2009
51) Polish Radio, June 12, 2009
52) Interfax-Ukraine, May 29, 2009
53) BBC News, May 22, 2009
54) United States Navy, Navy Newsstand, May 22, 2009
55) Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, June 12, 2009
56) Hometown Life, May 28, 2009