DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US Launches Biggest Allied Airborne Drills Since Cold War

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS:  US Launches Biggest Allied Airborne Drills Since Cold War

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources AFP
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - August 18, 2015: The United States said Tuesday it has launched the biggest allied airborne drills in Europe since the Cold War ended, as fighting involving pro-Russian separatists escalated in eastern Ukraine.

Nearly 5,000 soldiers from 11 NATO allies are taking part in four weeks of "simultaneous multinational airborne operations" across Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania that began in Saturday, the US Army said in a statement.

"Swift Response 15 is the largest Allied airborne training event on the continent since the end of the Cold War," according to the statement from the US Army in Grafenwohr in southern Germany.

It is designed to help allied "high-readiness forces" act as one and "demonstrate the alliance's capacity to rapidly deploy and operate in support of maintaining a strong and secure Europe," it said.

The statement made no reference to the crisis in Ukraine where government troops have been fighting pro-Russian separatists since April last year, which has claimed the lives of nearly 7,000 people.

While the conflict eased after a truce in February, fighting has escalated in recent days.

The fighting has stirred the highest tensions since the Cold War ended more than two decades ago as the West accuses Russia of not only arming the rebels but sending in troops to support them. Moscow denies the charges.

NATO, a 28-country alliance led by the United States, last week defended the number of military exercises it has staged as a response to "growing Russian aggression" and refuted suggestions that they were helping make war in Europe more likely.

The US Army said the highlight of the drills will take place on Aug. 26 when allied warplanes will drop more than 1,000 paratroopers and equipment the to Hohenfels training area in Germany.

A similar drill will also take place the same day at the Novo Selo training area in Bulgaria, a former Soviet ally.

Participating in the exercises until Sept. 13 are more than 4,800 soldiers from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.

It said the exercise marks the first time the US 82nd Airborne Division has operated in Europe since supporting NATO operations in Kosovo in 1999.

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DTN News - GEORGIA DEFENSE NEWS: How Russia And Georgia Started A Drone Arms Race

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - GEORGIA DEFENSE NEWS: How Russia And Georgia Started A Drone Arms Race

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Nicholas Clayton GlobalPost.com
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - October 26, 2012: On the night of August 7, 2008, (TBILISI, Georgia) what military experts and historians say is the world’s first two-sided drone war began.

Georgia, convinced Russia was about to annex its separatist region of South Ossetia, made the first move by bombarding and then invading the separatist capital, Tskhinvali.

What followed was a destructive five-day war that was to a great extent provoked and fought by drones, waking Russia up to the strategic importance of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology.

The Georgian government lost control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the country’s chaotic first years of independence after the Soviet Union fell in 1991.

Four months before the war, as peace talks stalled between Georgia and the de facto governments of its breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia the Georgian government began conducting reconnaissance flights over the conflict regions using medium-sized Hermes-450 drones it had purchased from Israel.

Moscow and Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi have frequently clashed over Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO as well as Russia’s increasing support to Georgian separatists, but the conflict intensified as the drones started to go down.

Three to seven Georgian drones were shot down over Abkhazia in April and May 2008. Each side offered conflicting information on the number of incidents and aircraft involved.

Georgia accused Russia, which maintained a peacekeeping contingent in each of the territories, of committing a “military aggression” on sovereign Georgian territory by shooting down the drones. On one occasion, Georgia produced video transmissions from one of its downed drones, showing a fighter jet shooting it with a missile. A subsequent UN report found that video proved Russia had shot down the drone using either a MiG-29 or Su-27 fighter.

These drone incidents highlighted a grey area of international laws and treaties pertaining to disputed territories and the use of unarmed, unmanned aircraft.

The 1994 Moscow Agreement was signed by the parties of the 1993-1994 Georgian-Abkhaz conflict and dictated that heavy weapons and military aircraft would not be allowed in or around the conflict zone. Both the UN and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which had observers deployed in Abkhazia, found that Russia violated the Moscow Agreement by sending the fighter to shoot down the Georgian drone.

However, the UN found that Georgia also violated the ceasefire because “a reconnaissance mission by a military aircraft, whether manned or unmanned, constituted ‘military action.’”

US Deputy Representative to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff protested the decision at the Security Council saying the Moscow Agreement “at best is unclear on this issue” and highlighted that the shootdown was a “very dangerous development, highly provocative” and a “violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

On the ground, the UN argued, the drone flights were “bound to be interpreted by the Abkhaz side as a precursor to a military operation,” but in his book “A Little War That Shook the World,” which chronicles the conflict and its causes, Ronald Asmus asserted that by shooting down the drone over internationally recognized Georgian territory, Russia committed the first “military aggression” of the war. In the end, the incident reinforced the notion on each side that the other was preparing to attack.

In the three months following the UN’s ruling, border skirmishes continued and escalated leading to Georgia’s offensive against Tskhinvali and a massive Russian counterattack that killed hundreds and caused over $1 billion in damage to Georgia.

After the war, Russian officials and military analysts said much of the blame for the military’s performance was due to the poor quality of its drone fleet.

To begin with, Russia’s drones were late to the battlefield as Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov initially forgot to sign an order authorizing their use. Unable to gain real-time intelligence on the ground, the Russian top brass sent fighter jets and long-range bombers on reconnaissance and close air support missions before Georgia’s air defenses were neutralized, leaving them vulnerable to being shot down.

Russia defense expert Roger McDermott wrote that as “calamitous” as Russia’s losses due to poor intelligence were, they could have been much greater if Georgia used its air-defense platforms more efficiently.

By contrast, the Georgian military was viewed as effective in its initial maneuvers, backed by intelligence provided by its Hermes-450s and other smaller Israeli-made drone models. The Hermes-450 is similar in size and capabilities to the US military’s Predator, which has been heavily used for missions across the Middle East.

Russian officials later disclosed that the only drones it operated during the war were outdated domestic models developed in the late 1970s-early 1980s and several were lost. Furthermore, even the most advanced Russian-designed drone in the air at the time, “demonstrated many problems, among them a distinct acoustic signature audible from a long distance, which, coupled with its low [flight] ceiling, yielded high vulnerability to ground fire,” said Vladimir Popovkin, head of the Defense Ministry’s procurement wing.

However, if Russia was drone-poor and Georgia drone-rich before the conflict, everything changed when Israel switched sides.

Less than a year after the war, Russia announced it had bought 12 drones of varying sophistication for $53 million from state defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and in October 2010, the two sides agreed to a $400 million joint venture agreement to produce dozens more. Jamestown Foundation Russia expert Pavel Felgenhauer called the deal “the biggest defense technology transfer deal between Russia and a Western nation since 1945.”

Russia is expected to continue to expand its drone arsenal, although its attempts at producing quality drones domestically have been largely fruitless and hardliners in Moscow have strongly resisted the military’s limited foreign purchases. Nonetheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin specifically underlined the development of Russia’s drone capabilities as a priority in a campaign essay ahead of his election in March and has said that Russia intends to spend $13 billion on drones by 2020 as a part of its military modernization.

Meanwhile, the fate of the drone deals between Georgia and Israel played a major factor in the quick deterioration of what Caucasus expert Michael Cecire described as a “love affair” turned “messy divorce.” Pre-2008, Israel enjoyed arguably its strongest ties in the region with the pro-Western government of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Israel sold Georgia 40 drones, anti-aircraft equipment, and trained Georgian infantry through private defense firms.

In the run-up to the war, however, Russia put heavy pressure on Israel to cancel its arms deals with Georgia, and publicly implied it would consider selling advanced equipment to Israel’s enemies if it did not give in. Israel acquiesced two days before the start of the conflict, a move that Georgian Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili, now ambassador to the US, slammed as “a disgrace.”

"Israel did it at the Russians' behest. It aided the terrorists, the Russians. It's a disgrace. I don't know what it received in return, I only see that Hezbollah continues to get Russian arms, and plenty of [them],” Yakobashvili told Haaretz at the time.

In April 2011, Israeli private defense contractor Elbit Systems, which supplied Georgia’s Hermes-450s and other drones, sued the country for $100 million for allegedly failing to pay for equipment. The two sides later settled the dispute with Georgia paying Elbit $35 million and returning “certain equipment and subsystems.”

Furthermore, in emails from private intelligence firm Stratfor leaked by WikiLeaks earlier this year, a Mexican source alleged that the Georgian government believed that Israel had also provided Moscow with the “data link codes” for its Hermes-450 drones, allowing Russian forces to hack them and force them to crash. This came supposedly in return for intelligence on air defense systems Russia had sold Iran.

The source, which Stratfor described as close to Mexican defense contractor Hydra Technologies, said Georgian officials were “frantically” looking for drones to replace its Israeli fleet, which they believed had been “compromised.”

Several defense industry sources told GlobalPost that it was extremely unlikely Israel would agree to such an intel exchange and doubted the credibility of Stratfor overall. Furthermore, Nick Turse, author of the ebook “Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare, 2001-2050,” said that there are a number of things that could bring down drones in a conventional warfare scenario, and drones are not particularly difficult to hack even without data link codes.

“Even Iraqi insurgents were able to hack drone feeds. So, we’re not talking about sophisticated military technology here,” he said. “In a traditional air war, drones would be decimated by conventional piloted aircraft, and modern air defense systems would make minced meat out of Predator and Reaper [type drones].”

Nonetheless, while unveiling what he said were a new line of Georgian-designed-and-produced drones in April, President Saakashvili implied he believed Israel had given Russia the codes.

“When you procure from abroad, a seller may not give you a full technology or may share technology [bought] by you to your adversary,” Saakashvili said, as cited by news website Civil.ge. “No one will share this [pointing to the Georgian-made drone] with others.”

A month earlier he was quoted as saying it was important Georgia was producing its own drones because “someone may cheat you or share data to others or refuse [to sell weapons] at a decisive moment.”

Contrary to Saakashvili’s claims, however, Georgia is still not fully self-sufficient in its drone technology. Shortly after the president presented the drones, military bloggers noted that the supposedly Georgian-designed drones bore a strong resemblance to the Swan, a small drone produced by private Estonian defense contractor ELI.

Estonian defense attaché to Georgia Riho Uhtegi confirmed to GlobalPost that the drones were designed by ELI and licensed to Georgia for production. Since the war, Georgia has complained of being under an unofficial arms embargo, even from its Western partners and has publicly demanded weapons systems to replace equipment it lost during the war — specifically drones, air defense and anti-tank weapons.

The Estonian drone contract was the biggest arms deal Georgia has made, albeit secretly, since the conflict and Uhtegi said it was necessary for Estonia to gain approval from other NATO member countries before making the sale.

Still, drone industry experts also emphasized that the Estonian Swans are a big step down from the medium-sized Israeli Hermes-450. The Swan has limited range and altitude and must be launched by a mobile catapult while only being able to land via parachute.

“It’s sort of like comparing a Yugo to a Honda. They’re both cars, they both carry people, but they’re not in the same class,” one expert said.

Nonetheless, Irakli Aladashvili, editor-in-chief of the Georgian military journal Arsenali, said that drones continue to be essential for Georgia because they offer the cheapest way for a small country to scout enemy territory.

“Drones are the best intelligence devices after satellite surveillance. Obviously, the small countries of the South Caucasus can’t afford to put satellites into space, so [drones] are important,” he said.

The first drone war showed that drones can have a major impact on combat, but Turse said they are not necessarily a game-changer on the battlefield.

“For the last 100 years or so, there’ve been these wonder weapons that come around that are supposed to revolutionize warfare and give one nation a tremendous advantage — from tanks to machine guns. But whenever wonder weapons appear, countermeasures develop. War always seems to find a way,” he said.

However, even if drones do not prove to be crucial in winning conventional wars, Turse says they are likely to help start some new conflicts as international law has been slow to adapt to the new realities and the US has “written the rulebook” on their usage. Those “rules,” he said, include the mentality that violating another country’s territory with a robot isn’t a violation at all.

“I think this is embedded in the thinking on this. The US has been violating the sovereignty and airspace of countries for decades now with airplanes and the fact that there are no pilots in these things, the leadership feels like that gives them license to do it, even though there is no fundamental difference between violating it with a piloted plane or a robot plane,” he said.

The legality of such actions is even less clear amid territorial disputes, and, the de facto government of South Ossetia announced in September that it was working on measures to shoot down the Georgian drones it frequently spots in what it considers to be its sovereign territory, leading to fears that an escalation similar to 2008 could repeat itself.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Nicholas Clayton GlobalPost.com
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DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: U.S.-Pakistan Military Negotiations ‘Very Positive’ According Gen. John R. Allen

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: U.S.-Pakistan Military Negotiations ‘Very Positive’ According Gen. John R. Allen
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Karen Parrish - American Forces Press Service
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 23, 2012: Military-to-military talks between the U.S. and Pakistan, which recently resumed after a lapse, are going well, the commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan said today.

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, International Security Assistance Force commander, acknowledged during a Pentagon press briefing that the issue of reopening Pakistani ground supply routes to NATO is still unresolved. Pakistan closed the routes after a late-November 2011 cross-border attack by NATO forces near a border coordination center in Afghanistan’s Kunar province accidently killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

“I have recently led a team to Islamabad to renew our conversation with the Pakistani military,” Allen said, noting the participants had “a very positive conversation about taking steps and measures necessary to prevent a recurrence of the events of 25 and 26 November.”

He said Lt. Gen. Shir Mohammad Karimi, general staff chief of operations for the Afghan National Army, also traveled to Islamabad for the two-day military talks with Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani army chief of staff.

“We committed ourselves to recurring meetings … with the idea of creating a constructive long-term relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Allen said.

Allen noted Pakistan has many challenges along its border with Afghanistan. Pakistan’s forces are also fighting an insurgency, he said, and they have taken more casualties in the last two years than the U.S. has in 10 years of combat in Afghanistan.

“Where we can find intersection of our interests, we should leverage those,” the general said. “And I think we're to the point where that conversation can occur.”

Since the ground supply routes through Pakistan into Afghanistan closed in November, Allen said, military cargo has moved through the northern distribution network, a set of logistic arrangements connecting Baltic and Caspian ports with Afghanistan via Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Immediately after Pakistan closed off the ground supple routes, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Transportation Command ramped up transport schedules to maintain the flow of supplies, Allen said.

“One of the great resources of the United States is the United States Air Force,” the Marine Corps general noted. The United States’ strategic logistics capabilities ensured the campaign and the supply chain supporting it continued uninterrupted, he added.

Supply stocks in Afghanistan are greater today than they were November 25, Allen said. At no point, he said, had gasoline dropped to less than a 30-day supply, the lowest level any supply stock had reached since the closure.

Allen noted the current routes are about twice as expensive and take more time than did supplies arriving through the ground route from Pakistan.

Allen emphasized he is not involved in government or policy discussions with Pakistan. But, he said, reestablishing communications among U.S., Pakistani and Afghan military leaders is “a very positive step” toward reopening supply routes.

“It is a negotiation, and negotiations take time, so I can't predict what the outcome will be and how soon that will be,” he said.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Karen Parrish - American Forces Press Service
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DTN News - UAE DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Delivers 5th C-17 to UAE Air Force And Air Defence

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - UAE DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Delivers 5th C-17 to UAE Air Force And Air Defence
 *C-17 airlifters delivered to United Arab Emirates in 2011; 6th scheduled for delivery in 2012
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 22, 2012: Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivered a fifth C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and Air Defence earlier this month. The UAE accepted delivery of four C-17s in 2011 and has one more airlifter on order for delivery later this year.

"It's amazing to see all that the UAE has accomplished with its fleet of C-17s in such a short time, including standing up a new base; qualifying three aircraft commanders and four mission-ready loadmasters; and conducting humanitarian aid and peacekeeping missions," said Bob Ciesla, Boeing Airlift vice president and C-17 program manager. 

"We're proud to be a part of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence mission long after each C-17 is delivered. With a mission-capable rate above 90 percent, UAE C-17s are ready to save lives and deliver hope whenever they are needed."

The UAE, Boeing's sixth international C-17 customer, received its first airlifter on May 10, 2011. Since that time, the UAE Air Force and Air Defence C-17 fleet has amassed more than 2,000 flight hours and carried more than 3,000 passengers and nearly 4 million pounds of cargo.

As a part of the worldwide C-17 "virtual fleet," UAE C-17s are supported through the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP), a Performance-Based Logistics agreement. The GISP arrangement provides the highest airlift mission-capable rate at one of the lowest costs per flying hour.

Boeing has delivered 243 C-17s worldwide, including 216 to the U.S. Air Force active duty, Guard and Reserve units. A total of 27 C-17s have been delivered to Australia, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations. India has 10 C-17s on order for delivery in 2013 and 2014.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 61,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

Contact:

Cindy Anderson
Boeing Defense, Space & Security
+1 562-253-5818
cindy.a.anderson@boeing.com

Fakher Daghestani
Middle East Communications
Boeing International Corporation
Mobile: +971 506 254855
fakher.a.daghestani@boeing.com

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DTN News - NATO SUMMIT IN CHICAGO: Barack Obama Snubs Asif Ali Zardari At NATO

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - NATO SUMMIT IN CHICAGO:  Barack Obama Snubs Asif Ali Zardari At NATO
*U.S. has dole out over $100 billion to Pakistan since 1950 with zero gain and multifaceted problems
>Five Decades of Aid to Pakistan, 1950 - 2001
It is not much of an exaggeration to state that since independence in 1947, Pakistan has been an aid-dependent nation. Some estimates suggest that the gross disbursement of overseas development assistance to Pakistan from 1960 to 2002 (in 2001 prices) was $73.1 billion, from both bilateral and multilateral sources.
Almost 30 percent of this official development assistance came in the form of bilateral aid from the United States, the largest single bilateral donor by far.
>U.S. Financial aid to Pakistan since 9/11
Between 2002-2010, Pakistan received approximately 18 billion in military and economic aid from the United States. In February 2010, the Obama administration requested an additional 3 billion in aid, for a total of $20.7 billion.
Western officials have claimed nearly 70% ( roughly $3.4 billion) of the aid given to the Military assistance has been misspent in 2002-2007 and used to over Civilian Deficit. However U.S-Pakistani relationship has been a transactional based and U.S military aid to Pakistan and aid conditions has been shrouded in secrecy for several years until recently . In a startling revelation, an update released says that US funding to Pakistan has more than doubled since President Obama took office in 2009. In fiscal 2010 US gave nearly $4.3 billion to Pakistan, up from about $3 billion in 2009 and $2 billion in 2008. The US fiscal year runs from October to September.
>As of May 21, 2012 - Is Pakistan an opportunistic or a greedy country
In an unmistakable snub, President Barack Obama left Pakistan off a list of nations he thanked Monday for help getting war supplies into Afghanistan and refused to meet Mr Zardari yesterday in the midst of Pakistan's refusal to compromise over increasing the fee for trucks to pass through its territory to Afghanistan from $US250 ($253) to $US5000 almost two-thousand percent increase. Now, Pakistan has lost its credibility globally as a reliable or a dependable ally to fight or to stamp out terrorism and militancy.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources BY: BRAD NORINGTON, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 21, 2012: BARACK Obama has snubbed Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari despite inviting him to a NATO summit in Chicago, as a bitter dispute rages over supply routes that could disrupt the planned US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The US President refused to meet Mr Zardari yesterday in the midst of Pakistan's refusal to compromise over increasing the fee for trucks to pass through its territory to Afghanistan from $US250 ($253) to $US5000.

Pakistan closed its borders and then demanded the huge price rise for moving US supply trucks through its territory after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.

Mr Zardari was invited to the NATO talks at late notice and US officials appear to have hoped a settlement of the transportation issue could have been reached before his arrival.

Instead, the conflict worsened yesterday.

It was made clear that Mr Obama was unwilling to meet Mr Zardari, and the diplomatic task was handed to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The dispute with Pakistan has forced unacceptable costs on the US as trucks transporting up to 40 per cent of equipment to and from Afghanistan have been forced to use a longer route through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The US insists strikes that killed Pakistani soldiers were accidental because the troops concerned appeared hostile.

It has also refused to issue a full apology, which has been demanded by Pakistan.

The rise in Pakistan's fee per truck is not only considered unreasonable retaliation but also a potential stumbling block as Washington draws up plans for withdrawing large amounts of military equipment from Afghanistan for a planned troop withdrawal by the end of 2014.

The argument over transportation fees is only the latest flare-up in relations. It follows US doubts about Pakistan's loyalty and its alleged double-dealing with the Taliban and insurgent groups considered terrorists.

The US still suspects senior Pakistani intelligence officials knew al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden was hiding in a town with one of the country's largest military barracks for five years when Mr Obama ordered a commando raid on his hideout last year.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government resents the unauthorised raid on its territory.

The US President yesterday met Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai at the NATO summit in Chicago.

The pair discussed plans to wind down the war and hand security to local forces while maintaining an American military commitment for a decade after the official 2014 withdrawal.

Using words similar to those for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Mr Karzai thanked Mr Obama for "taxpayers' money" used to support his country as the US pledges continued support for an Afghan military after the official foreign troop withdrawal at a cost of $US4 billion a year.

Under the withdrawal schedule, local Afghan forces are meant to be responsible for the country's security by mid-next year.

All combat troops are to be withdrawn by the end of 2014.

Administration officials said yesterday that the invitation to Chicago for Mr Zardari had not come from Mr Obama personally but through NATO.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources BY: BRAD NORINGTON, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian
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DTN News - NATO SUMMIT IN CHICAGO: ISAF Nations To Decide On Next Transition Milestone

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - NATO SUMMIT IN CHICAGO: ISAF Nations To Decide On Next Transition Milestone
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Cheryl Pellerin - American Forces Press Service & 'Pak Wants US To Apologise For Salala' - The News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 21, 2012: Representatives from 50 nations that contribute to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan will decide today on the next milestone for the transition in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said here today.

On the second day of the NATO summit in Chicago, the president and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made statements before the closed meeting.

Obama spoke from his place at the circle of tables formed around the blue NATO logo. About 250 heads of state and other officials were in attendance.

At today’s summit meeting, the president said, attendees “will set a goal for Afghan forces to take the lead for combat operations across the country in 2013, next year, so that ISAF can move to a supporting role.”

This will be another step toward the goal of having Afghans take the full lead for their security by the end of 2014, when the ISAF combat mission will end, Obama added.

NATO and its partners aim to preserve the coalition’s hard-won progress in Afghanistan, he said.

“The strategic partnership agreement that President [Hamid] Karzai and I signed in Kabul ensures that as Afghans stand up, they will not stand alone,” the president said. “Today we can agree on NATO's long-term relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, including our support of Afghan security forces.”

Two years ago at NATO’s summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Obama said, coalition nations agreed on a framework for transition in Afghanistan that would allow a responsible drawdown of the war by the end of 2014, and afterward allow for a long-term partnership with Afghanistan and the Afghan people.

Important progress has been made during the past two years, the president added.

“Our forces broke the Taliban's momentum, more Afghans are reclaiming their communities, Afghan security forces have grown stronger, and the transition that we agreed to in Lisbon is well under way,” he said.

Last week saw more progress, Obama said.

“We very much welcome President Karzai's announcement of the third group of areas to begin transition,” he said. “This means that 75 percent of the Afghan people live in areas where Afghan forces will be moving into the lead.” This phase will see 122 more districts across the nation transition to Afghan control, Karzai said May 17.

In his remarks before the morning session, the secretary general said that as Afghan forces step up, coalition forces will step back into a supporting role, focusing on training, advising and assisting Afghan partners.

“By the end of 2014, Afghan forces [will] have assumed full security responsibility throughout Afghanistan. By end of 2014, the ISAF operation will terminate and the NATO-led combat mission will end,” Rasmussen said.

But the commitment of NATO and the international community in Afghanistan is for the long term, said he added.

“From 2015, we expect to maintain a NATO-led presence to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces,” Rasmussen said. “And NATO and ISAF nations will also pay their share to help sustain the army and police Afghanistan needs for the coming years. We all remain committed to our goal: a secure and democratic Afghanistan in a stable region.”

Obama said the region and the world have a profound interest in an Afghanistan that is stable, secure and not a source of attacks on other nations.

“And today, as always,” the president said, “our thoughts are with our brave forces who are serving in this vital mission.”

'Pak Wants US To Apologise For Salala' - The News

Hours before the start of Nato summit in Chicago on Sunday, Pakistan Ambassador in the US, Sherry Rehman called for the US administration to execute Pakistan's five demands to salvage the relationship between the two countries.

In her write-up published today in foreign media, Sherry Rehman topped the five-point demand list with the tendering of apology by the US for Salala attacks that killed 24 Pakistan soldiers.

She said significant progress could be made towards resetting the bilateral relationship if the US tenders apology for Salala attacks, reimburses CSF, enhances sharing of intelligence, ceases the drone attacks and shifts to policy of trade not aid.

"The US and Pakistan have had a rocky year. The unilateral raid on Abbottabad, the Raymond Davis CIA provocation, the U.S.-led NATO air assault in Salalah that tragically killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and the continuing unauthorized drone attacks on Pakistani soil have frayed our 60-year special relationship," Sherry Rehman said.

If the war against extremism is to succeed, the war of words between democratic allies must end, she asserted.

The ambassador said Pakistan has taken the first step to restoring normalcy to Pak-US relations by working to reopen the NATO supply routes that were closed after the Salalah tragedy.

Additional NATO News;

ISAF Nations to Decide on Next Transition Milestone       CHICAGO - Representatives from 50 nations that contribute to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan will decide at the NATO summit on the next milestone for the transition in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said.

05/21/2012 Allen Explains Priorities in Afghanistan       WASHINGTON - Coalition forces will fulfill their missions in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, told reporters at the beginning of the NATO summit.

05/21/2012 Face of Defense: Marine Serves Second Afghan Tour       KHAN NESHIN DISTRICT, Afghanistan - Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Brandon M. Barton is on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, yet earlier in his life he’d never thought he would find himself wearing a Marine Corps uniform.

05/21/2012 Combined Afghan, Coalition Force Detains Taliban Facilitator       WASHINGTON - A combined Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban facilitator in the Zharay district of Kandahar province.

05/21/2012 Rotational Deployments to Boost U.S. Asia-Pacific Presence       WASHINGTON - Welcoming new Marine rotational deployments in Australia and Navy rotations planned for Singapore, the top U.S. Pacific Command officer said he’ll seek similar arrangements, possibly to include the Army, that expand U.S. presence in the region without the need for more permanently based forces.

05/20/2012 NATO Declares Missile Defense System Operational       CHICAGO - During its first session at the 25th NATO Summit, the alliance’s senior governing body declared operational the missile defense system it endorsed at its November 2010 summit in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO’s secretary general said.

05/20/2012 Panetta Meets With United Kingdom Counterpart       CHICAGO - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met in Chicago with his counterpart from the United Kingdom, Secretary of State of Defense Philip Hammond.

05/20/2012 Summit Reaffirms Commitment to Collective Security, Obama Says       CHICAGO - A year and a half after the NATO members at their summit in Lisbon, Portugal, pledged bold action to revitalize the future alliance, heads of state and government are reaffirming commitment to their collective defense and security, President Barack Obama said.

05/20/2012 Obama: Summit Will Reflect Consensus on Afghanistan       CHICAGO - The NATO summit largely will be devoted to ratifying and reflecting broad consensus on long-term support for Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said after a meeting in Chicago with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

05/20/2012 Secretary General Kicks Off NATO Summit in Chicago       CHICAGO - NATO’s largest-ever summit opened in Chicago to focus on keeping Afghanistan secure, ensuring NATO’s capability in the 21st century, and enhancing the alliance’s global network of partners, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

05/19/2012 Panetta Discusses Cooperation With French Defense Minister       WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with newly appointed French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to discuss Afghan transition prior to the upcoming NATO Summit, a senior Pentagon spokesman said.

05/19/2012 Panetta Praises Troops on Armed Forces Day       WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today thanked troops and their families for their service in an Armed Forces Day message, in which he also noted the importance of the upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago.

05/18/2012 President Issues Armed Forces Day Proclamation       WASHINGTON - In a proclamation declaring May 19 Armed Forces Day, President Barack Obama urged all Americans to recognize and honor U.S. military members for their “unparalleled service” in defense of the nation.

05/18/2012 Summit to Highlight NATO’s Evolving Capabilities       WASHINGTON - There are three big agenda items and one strategic priority that will occupy center stage at NATO’s May 20-21 summit in Chicago, James J. Townsend Jr., deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, told Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.

05/18/2012 Report Depicts China’s Military Progress, Strategic Thinking       WASHINGTON - The Defense Department’s 2012 Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China report details China’s growing military capabilities, and points to areas of cooperation between the United States and China, a senior DOD official told Pentagon reporters.

05/18/2012 NATO General Outlines Summit Topics, Alliance Changes       WASHINGTON - NATO’s plan for military operations in Afghanistan up to and beyond 2014 will be the top agenda item at the organization’s May 20-21 summit in Chicago, Danish Army Gen. Knud Bartels, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, told American Forces Press Service.

05/18/2012 Face of Defense: Quick-thinking Airman Prevents Tragedy       SOUTHWEST ASIA - When Air Force Senior Airman Lanea Trevino noticed abandoned shower supplies in the wash stall next to hers, she set out in search of the items’ rightful owner and ended up saving another airman’s life.

05/18/2012 Locklear: Pacom’s Priorities Reflect New Strategic Guidance       WASHINGTON - With clear direction from President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, the new U.S. Pacific Command chief said he’s using the new strategic guidance as a roadmap as he sets priorities and engages with the region.

05/18/2012 Combined Force Seizes Opium Cache       KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan and coalition security force discovered a drug cache of opium during a patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.

05/18/2012 U.S. European Command, NATO Boost Cyber Defenses       WASHINGTON - Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, the commander of U.S. European Command, says preparing a good defense to deter cyber attacks ranks among his top concerns.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Cheryl Pellerin - American Forces Press Service & 'Pak Wants US To Apologise For Salala' - The News
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