New Target For NATO Syria And Then Iran

According to the Russains NATO is planning a military campaign against Syria to help overthrow the regime of President Bashar al-Assad with a long-reaching goal of preparing a beachhead for an attack on Iran. Which according to me is a mistake because Iran is the counterbalance world needs against the Saudis and there brand of Wahabi Islam.

The UN Security Council condemned on Wednesday ongoing violence in Syria and urged the country's authorities to stop using force against peaceful protesters, while saying the current situation in the country has not yet called for NATO interference.

"This statement means that the planning of the military campaign is well underway. It could be a logical conclusion of those military and propaganda operations, which have been carried out by certain Western countries against North Africa," Rogozin said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper published on Friday.

The Russian diplomat pointed out at the fact that the alliance is aiming to interfere only with the regimes "whose views do not coincide with those of the West."

Rogozin agreed with the opinion expressed by some experts that Syria and later Yemen could be NATO's last steps on the way to launch an attack on Iran.

"The noose around Iran is tightening. Military planning against Iran is underway. And we are certainly concerned about an escalation of a large-scale war in this huge region," Rogozin said.

Having learned the Libyan lesson, Russia "will continue to oppose a forcible resolution of the situation in Syria," he said, adding that the consequences of a large-scale conflict in North Africa would be devastating for the whole world.

I wonder when will NATO plan attacks on Riyadh because they are the main root of all evil and once Iran is out of the way there is no saying what the wahabi's will do with the new found influence in the Islamic world. At present they are a divided house with the Shia's immense hate for the Sunni's and the Sunni's murderous intent on the Shia's but once the Shia powerhouse Iran is destroyed it will help the house of Saud in establishing the long cherished world islamic government controlled from Riyadh.

Russia Uncomfortable With U.S Warship Presence In Black Sea Naval Exercise

Foreign Ministry Of Russia on Sunday made it clear that Russia was not happy with the presence of US guided missile cruiser Monterrey equipped with the AEGIS ballistic missile defence system in the Ukrainian-U.S. naval drills called Sea Breeze 2011 in the Black Sea.

"While leaving aside the unsettled issue of a possible European missile shield architecture, Russia would like to know, in compliance with the Russia-NATO Lisbon summit decisions, what 'aggravation' the U.S. command meant by moving the basic strike unit of the regional missile defense grouping being formed by NATO in the region, from the Mediterranean to the east," the ministry said in a statement.


“The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that we shall not leave unnoticed any elements of U.S. strategic infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of our borders and that we shall take such steps as a threat to our security,” the ministry said in its statement. “We have to state that our concerns are still being ignored and that screened by talk about cooperation in the area of anti-missile defence this very anti-missile shield configuration is being formed in Europe, while we have repeatedly warned our U.S. and NATO partners about its dangerous consequences. Moreover, it is being done blatantly as though to demonstrate Russia that no one is going to take its opinion into consideration. Such an approach in no way promotes joint efforts to outline the concept and architecture of the future missile defence system in Europe, as was agreed in Lisbon and at meetings between the Russian and U.S. presidents.”

"The mere fact that the very first phase of the U.S. administration’s ‘adaptive approach’ is accompanied by such ‘surprises’ testifies to the high level of strategic vagueness the U.S. missile defence program creates,” the Russian Foreign Ministry went on. “The question is quite logic whether oral warranties that it is not targeted against Russia could be trusted.”

“U.S. missile cruiser’s reconnoitering of the Black Sea waters once again proves the necessity to spell out clear legal guarantees that anti-missile defence infrastructure that is being deployed in Europe is not targeted against Russia’s nuclear deterrence potential. Such guarantees should be based on objective criteria making it possible to see to it that missile defence systems meet their stated goals, i.e. to repel missile threats originating from outside Europe. It is likewise vital to ensure Russia’s equal participation in the development of the concept and architecture of the European missile defence system and to work out relevant measures of building up trust and transparency,” the statement said.

According to the ministry's statement, Monterrey was sent to European waters as part of the U.S. administration's phased adaptive approach to building the European segment of the global missile shield. The program's first stage envisages the deployment of a group of U.S. warships in the Adriatic, Aegean and Mediterranean Seas to protect South Europe from possible missile strikes.

This according to the Russians is aggravating the matters related to the already complicated European Missile Shield Plans. The problem is that Poland and Romania are important sites to detect and defend against Iranian missiles but same sites can be used against Russian missiles too thus nullifying Russian capability against the western powers.

Gadhafi: 'We will not surrender, we will not give up'

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vowed Tuesday that "we will not surrender," even as NATO airstrikes bombarded his compound in Tripoli.

"I am now speaking as planes and bombs fall around me," Gadhafi said in a live audio broadcast on state television. "But my soul is in God's hand. We will not think about death or life. We will think about the call of duty."

At least 35 loud explosions rocked Tripoli around midday Tuesday as NATO targeted a military base and Gadhafi's compound, state television reported.

The compound was under "intensive continuous bombardment," according to state TV, which reported buildings and infrastructure in the area were destroyed in the strikes.

"We will not surrender, we will not give up," Gadhafi said. "We have one option -- our country. We will remain in it till the end. Dead, alive, victorious, it doesn't matter."

The blasts Tuesday, and others Monday that Libyan officials said hit state television buildings, elicited heated responses from a government spokesman.

"We believe NATO understands that its military campaign is failing miserably," said Musa Ibrahim, the government spokesman. "No one has the right to shape Libya's future except for Libyans."

Ibrahim said Tuesday's morning blasts hit the popular guard compound and revolution compound, which are military barracks near Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Ibrahim said the attack on the television network killed two people and injured 16.
NATO disputed the account.

"We did not target or hit the Libyan broadcast facilities. What we did target was the military intelligence headquarters in downtown Tripoli," the alliance said. "The story coming from Libyan officials that we targeted and hit the state broadcaster's building is bogus."

The back and forth between Libyan officials and NATO continues a public relations war between the two sides.

Libyan officials have continually charged that NATO airstrikes have damaged civilian facilities and killed hundreds of civilians.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said recently that his forces have made "significant progress" in its U.N. Security Council mandate to protect Libyan civilians.

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Russian Submarine To Join NATO Exercise For The First Time

A Russian submarine will take part in the world's biggest submarine rescue exercise with its former Cold War foe, NATO, next week, the military alliance said May 27.

The Russian submarine, the first to participate in any NATO exercise, will drop to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea along with Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish submarines and will await listless for a rescue mission off the coast of Cartagena, Spain.

About 2,000 military and non-military personnel as well as ships and aircraft from more than 20 nations will take part in the exercise, dubbed Bold Monarch 11, that will run from May 30 to June 10.

Held every three years, it "is the world's largest submarine rescue exercise," said a statement from NATO's SHAPE allied military headquarters based in Mons, Belgium.

"The exercise is designed to maximize international cooperation in submarine rescue operations - something that has always been very important to NATO and all the submarine-operating nations," it said.

The inclusion of a Russian submarine in the exercise comes amid a warming of ties between Moscow and the 28-nation alliance, nearly three years after Russia's war with Georgia had sparked tensions between the two sides.

The U.S., Russia, Italy and Sweden are contributing submarine rescue vehicles and sophisticated gear to clear debris. France, Norway and Britain will use a jointly owned rescue system.

Aircraft will deploy from Italy, Britain and the U.S. to help locate the submarines and drop parachutists to provide emergency assistance.

The vast exercise will culminate with a 48-hour coordinated rescue and evacuation of 150 survivors, including casualties, from a submarine acting in distress.

NATO Airstrikes Pound Tripoli

NATO warplanes bombarded targets in Tripoli with more than 20 airstrikes early Tuesday, striking around Moammar Gadhafi's residential compound in what appeared to be the heaviest night of bombing of the Libyan capital since the Western alliance launched its air campaign against his forces.

The rapid string of strikes, all within less than half an hour, set off thunderous booms that rattled windows, sent heavy, acrid-smelling plumes of smoke over the city, including from an area close to Gadhafi's sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said at least three people were killed and dozens wounded in NATO strikes that targeted what he described as buildings used by volunteer units of the Libyan army.He also said the attack targeted a guard compound for pro-Gadhafi military volunteers that had been emptied in anticipation. At least three people were killed and 150 wounded, Ibrahim said, calling the attack an escalation by NATO.

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