Day 107: Updates on War Against Libya and Africa, July 3

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• July 4th: What U.S. Stands For In Libya ? Cynthia McKinney
• Russia: NATO Runs Roughshod Over International Norms In Libya
• 107-Day War: 13,585 NATO Air Missions, 5,099 Combat Sorties
• Libya: Syria Evacuates Citizens From NATO Bombings
• Turkey Recognizes Western-Backed Libyan Rebel Council
• NATO To Deploy 1,000 Spanish Legionaires To Afghanistan Next Year
• Pentagon Rapidly Expanding Central Asian Supply Lines For Afghan War
• Canada To Conduct Unprecedented Military Exercises In Arctic
• U.S. Natural Gas Deal Sparks Protests In Bangladesh
• Belarus Accuses West Of Fomenting ?Color Revolution?

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July 4th: What U.S. Stands For In Libya ? Cynthia McKinney

http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/03-Jul-2011/What-US-stands-for-in-Libya

The Nation (Pakistan)
July 3, 2011

What US stands for in Libya
By Cynthia McKinney

At a time when the American people have been asked to tighten their belts, teachers are receiving pink slips, the vital statistics of the American people reveal a health care crisis in the making, and the US government is in serious threat of default, our President and Congress have decided that a new war, this time against the people of Libya, is appropriate.

This comes at a time when the US, by one estimate, spends approximately $3 billion per week for war against Iraq and Afghanistan. The President and Congress continue to fund the war against Libya despite the fact that Secretary of Defence Robert Gates announced that the US had no strategic interest in Libya; and despite the fact that the Senate Chairwoman of the Select Committee on Intelligence admits that the US really does not know who the ?rebels? are; while the rebels themselves, according to a Telegraph report of 25 March 2011, admit that Al-Qaeda elements are among their ranks.

So while the apparatus of our government has been used for over ten years to inform the American people and the global community that Al-Qaeda is an enemy of freedom-loving people all over the world, the President chooses to ally our military with none other than Al-Qaeda elements in Libya and other people whom US intelligence say they do not know.

Additionally, US Admiral Locklear admitted to a Member of Congress that one of NATO?s missions was to assassinate Muammar Qaddafi. And, indeed, NATO bombs have killed Qaddafi?s son and three grandchildren, just as US bombs in 1986 killed his daughter.

NATO bombs just recently killed the grandchildren of one of Qaddafi?s associates in a targeted assassination attempt. Targeted assassination is not within the scope of the United Nations Security Council Resolution and targeted assassination is against US law, international law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law.

Targeted assassination is also a crime. We certainly cannot encourage others to abide by the law when we so openly break it.

While in Libya, I witnessed NATO?s targeting of civilians: NATO bombs and missiles landed in residential neighbourhoods, hit schools, exploded near hospitals, destroyed parts of the public broadcasting infrastructure, and narrowly missed killing students at Al Fateh University. When civilians are targeted in war, or ?low kinetic? activities, crimes are committed.

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Russia: NATO Runs Roughshod Over International Norms In Libya

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/07/03/52716693.html

Voice of Russia
July 3, 2011

Russia warns NATO against violating international norms

NATO?s current actions in Libya question the alliance?s pledge to stick to international norms, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Interfax on Sunday.

He lamented NATO?s unwillingness to adhere to its new strategy, which was adopted during last year?s NATO summit in Lisbon and which specifically stipulated Brussels complying with international norms.

Regrettably, what the alliance is now doing in Libya rides roughshod over its Lisbon obligations, Grushko said, adding that the topic will be high on the agenda of a session of the Russia-NATO Council in Sochi on July 4.

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107-Day War: 13,585 NATO Air Missions, 5,099 Combat Sorties

http://www.aco.nato.int/resources/3/documents/Libya%20update%20July%2011/20110703_110703-oup-update.pdf

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
July 3, 2011

NATO and Libya
Allied Joint Force Command NAPLES, SHAPE, NATO HQ

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Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR:

Air Operations

Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00GMT) a total of 13,585 sorties, including 5,099 strike sorties have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 02 JULY: 125

Strike sorties conducted 02 JULY: 52

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Libya: Syria Evacuates Citizens From NATO Bombings

http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/07/03/356230.htm

Syrian Arab News Agency
July 3, 2011

77 Syrians Evacuated from Libya
R. Raslan/H. Said

DAMASCUS: The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates continues the evacuation of Syrians living in Libya.

An official source at the Ministry told SANA that 77 Syrian citizens, 11 of whom are children, were carried back home last week via Tunisian airlines and at the cost of the Ministry.

The intensive flights for the evacuation operations organized by the Syrian embassies in Tripoli and Tunis came in light of the war launched by the NATO on Tripoli which resulted in the killing of many civilians including a number of Syrian nationals.

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Turkey Recognizes Western-Backed Libyan Rebel Council

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1900107.html

Trend News Agency
July 3, 2011

Turkey recognizes National Transitional Council as legitimate representative of Libyans ? FM

Turkey recognizes the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday on a visit to Libya.

?The people?s demands for reforms should be met. Gaddafi must go, Libya should not split?, Davutoglu said after meeting with the TNC (the ruling body of Libyan rebels) head Mustafa Abdel Jalil in the city of Benghazi, CNN Turk reported.

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NATO To Deploy 1,000 Spanish Legionaires To Afghanistan Next Year

http://www.theleader.info/article/29350/spain/costa-de-almeria/spanish-legion-to-return-to-afghanistan/

The Leader
July 3, 2011

SPANISH LEGION TO RETURN TO AFGHANISTAN
Kevin Reardon

-Since the beginning of the Allied offensive the Spanish ?fallen? now totals ninety-seven, making the Afghan conflict the most damaging of all in Spanish military history during it?s years of democracy [NATO membership].
-The Spanish Foreign Legion was formed in 1920, in emulation of the French one, and had a significant role in Spain?s colonial wars in Morocco and in the Spanish Civil War on the Nationalist side.
-The Spanish Legion nowadays is mostly used in NATO peacekeeping missions. It currently numbers 5,000 in a Brigade of two tercios (regiments) with two other independent tercios currently deployed mainly in the Spanish African enclaves, namely Ceuta and Melilla but also in Ronda, Viator and Almer?a.

Almeria?s Legionnaires opened the Spanish mission in Afghanistan in September 2004 when they provided a battalion, about 800 personnel, to establish the ISAF Quick Reaction Force. It was confirmed last week that despite the drawdown announced by the Minister for Defence, Carme Chac?n, aimed at pulling all Spanish troops out of the country by 2014, they will have to serve at least one more tour of duty.

If the history of Spanish casualties in Afghanistan were not enough to prove the danger of the military mission, last week?s death of a sergeant and a female soldier, Argudin Manuel and Pineda Niyireth, following an attack on a convoy highlights the real war scenario that these troops are constantly facing.

Since the beginning of the Allied offensive the Spanish ?fallen? now totals ninety-seven, making the Afghan conflict the most damaging of all in Spanish military history during it?s years of democracy.

Defence Minister, Carmen Chac?n, announced the timetable for phasing out Spanish troops by 2014 and, as such, the Legion, with it?s central base in Almeria, will have to serve at least one more tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The forecast is that the Legion will now send a large contingent of close to a thousand troops in early 2012. The Legionnaires are already undertaking their preparatory training at their base ?Alvarez de Sotomayor, ?located in the municipality of Viator. This camp has been used in recent years as the main location for military training by all Spanish troops about to serve in desert conflicts with characteristics very similar to those found in Afghanistan.

The Spanish Foreign Legion was formed in 1920, in emulation of the French one, and had a significant role in Spain?s colonial wars in Morocco and in the Spanish Civil War on the Nationalist side. The Spanish Foreign Legion recruited foreigners until 1986 but unlike its French model, the number of non-Spanish recruits never exceeded 25%, most of those from Latin America. It is now called the Spanish Legion and only recruits Spanish nationals.

The Spanish Legion nowadays is mostly used in NATO peacekeeping missions. It currently numbers 5,000 in a Brigade of two tercios (regiments) with two other independent tercios currently deployed mainly in the Spanish African enclaves, namely Ceuta and Melilla but also in Ronda, Viator and Almer?a. Although the detachment at M?laga was transferred away, every Holy Week a platoon of legionnaires marches through the city in procession of the Christ of the Good Death, a figure of a crucified Jesus, venerated by the Legion.

The Legion remains a harshly disciplined elite unit and is directly controlled by the Spanish General Staff.

During a trip in which she visited the wounded and met with leaders of the Spanish contingent, Carme Chacon, the Minister of Defense was in Afghanistan last week to collect information on the recent attack suffered by Spanish troops. She was accompanied by Chief of Defense Staff, Air Force General, Jose Julio Rodriguez.

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Pentagon Rapidly Expanding Central Asian Supply Lines For Afghan War

http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/03-Jul-2011/US-military-plans-new-supply-lines-into-Afghanistan-Report

The Nation
July 3, 2011

US military plans new supply lines into Afghanistan: Report

WASHINGTON: The US military is rapidly expanding its Central Asian supply routes to the war in Afghanistan, fearing that Pakistan could cut off the main means of providing American and NATO forces with fuel, food and equipment, The Washington Post reported.

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On Sunday, the Post recalled that Pakistan?s temporary closure of a major crossing into Afghanistan in September, resulting in a logjam of hundreds of supply trucks and fuel tankers, dozens of which were destroyed in attacks by insurgents.

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A senior U.S. defence official said the military wants to keep using Pakistan, which offers the most direct and the cheapest routes to Afghanistan. But the Pentagon also wants the ability to bypass the country if necessary.

With landlocked Afghanistan lacking seaports, and hostile Iran blocking access from the west, it said Pentagon logisticians have limited alternatives.

?It?s either Central Asia or Pakistan ? those are the two choices. We?d like to have both,? the defence official said, ?We?d like to have a balance between them, and not be dependent on either one, but always have the possibility of switching.?

U.S. military officials said they have emergency backup plans in case the Pakistan routes became unavailable.

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Canada To Conduct Unprecedented Military Exercises In Arctic

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110703/164994032.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
July 3, 2011

Canada plans huge rehearsal in Arctic region

MOSCOW: Canadian Defense Minister Peter McKay has announced that his country is preparing to send more than 1,000 troops on a huge Nanook exercise in the High Arctic in August, the website of Montreal Gazette paper said on Sunday.

?It will be the largest operation that has taken place in recent history,? MacKay told soldiers in Afghanistan. ?All of this is very much about enlarging the footprint and the permanent and seasonal presence we have in the North. It is something that we as a government intend to keep investing in.?

The announcement came two days after Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Russia would deploy troops in the north to defend its interests in the Arctic region.

The Canadian exercise is to play out in several phases on and near Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island throughout August. It will involve CF-18 fighter jets as well as surveillance and transport aircraft, a warship, infantry companies from Quebec and Alberta and 5 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group ? Inuit reservists who have broad experience surviving in the extremely austere environment of the Far North.

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U.S. Natural Gas Deal Sparks Protests In Bangladesh

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110703/164994941.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
July 3, 2011

US gas deal sparks protests in Bangladesh

MOSCOW: A six-hour general strike whose participants demand that the country?s government cancel a gas deal with US energy giant ConocoPhillips hast kicked off in Bangladesh, local media said on Sunday.

Last month, Bangladesh government signed a production-sharing contract with ConocoPhillips to explore for gas in deep waters of the Bay of Bengal. The company said it wants to start exploring in two areas covering 1,992 square miles as soon as possible, and that it needs to conduct seismic surveys in two blocks with water depths of 0.6 miles to 0.9 miles.

Bangladesh officials say the deal will help meet the country?s increasing energy demands, but activists who organized the general strike believe the pact compromises Bangladesh?s interests.

Video footage of the ATN Bangla TV channel featured a group of angry protesters smashing a car on the streets. Security officials cordoned off the office of the protesters in downtown Dhaka?s Purana Paltan area.

Dozens of activists have been arrested during a half-day strike in Bangladesh?s capital Dhaka on Sunday, the Peopledaily web resource said.

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Belarus Accuses West Of Fomenting ?Color Revolution?

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/07/03/52721327.html

Voice of Russia
July 3, 2011

Lukashenko accuses the West

Belarus?s President Alexander Lukashenko believes that some forces in the West are plotting a ?color revolution? in his country. He said this at a military parade which was held to celebrate Belarus?s Independence Day this Sunday.

Mr. Lukashenko claims that the West, in fact, is leading an information war against Belarus. ?That?s the way of Western leaders ? to tune the world?s moods against regimes which are unsuitable for them,? he said. ?Some people in the West are dreaming of a unipolar world. Still, I believe that Belarus is strong enough to stand against any provocations.?

The police in Belarus are on double alert this Sunday, because the opposition is planning what they call ?an action of silent protest?.

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http://news.belta.by/en/news/president?id=641648

Belarusian Telegraph Agency
July 3, 2011

Lukashenko: ?Color revolutions? have no prospects in Belarus

MINSK: ?Color revolution? scenarios are futureless in Belarus, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at the Independence Day military parade in Minsk, BelTA has learnt.

The head of state noted that scenarios of shameless ?color revolutions? written in the capitals of certain countries are intentionally and strenuously pushed through in Belarus. ?We understand the goal of these attacks. It is to sow uncertainty and disturbance, destroy public consent and, finally, bring us down to the core and nullify all the efforts made to gain independence. This will never happen,? the President stressed.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, Belarusians held out against the enemy during the Great Patriotic War, restored their land back from ashes?and?secured ?a decent place among the nations?.

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http://news.belta.by/en/news/president?id=641658

Belarusian Telegraph Agency
July 3, 2011

Lukashenko: Powers that be use information weapons against dissenting countries

MINSK: The powers-that-be use weapons of mass information destruction against dissenting countries, president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said at the Independence Day military parade in Minsk.

The President noted that today there is no military threat to Belarus. ?But history, including the recent past, shows that you should always keep the powder dry. Peaceful and creative labor should be reliably protected,? Alexander Lukashenko noted.

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?We do not threaten anyone. We do not attack anyone and are not going to do so in the future,? said the head of state.

Alexander Lukashenko stressed that Belarus does not develop and use weapons of mass destruction. Neither does it sponsor international crime or terrorism, or train fighters for revolutions in neighboring countries, or trade in women and children.

The memory of the millions of WWII victims should have forced mankind to abandon the use of force and find peaceful methods of conflict resolution. However, today the intention of certain circles to use force, political pressure and economic sanctions for promoting their interests remains a constant source of tension, the head of state said.

According to the President, information intervention is escalating. Public opinion is manipulated without any constraint. Widespread defamation including on an anonymous basis through mass media is taken for granted today. ?Powers-that-be make use of the weapons of mass information destruction against dissenting countries. The main goal is to dictate, impose political will, on others, force people to a new world order,? Alexander Lukashenko said.

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Source: http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=627419

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