Iran test firing some of its missiles.

The news media in Israel this evening reports foreign embassies are organizing contingency plans for the evacuation of their nationals and diplomats and are requesting gas masks from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Diplomats and their families are worried about a missile strike that may prompt a mass evacuation of Israeli citizens with passports. The European Union does not currently have the resources to undertake an evacuation of its citizens in a short period of time.

Israeli officials have provided embassies with a list of public bomb shelters in the country and an instructional pamphlet produced by the IDF, Ynetnews.com reports.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Iran will not ask the group to retaliate if Israel strikes Iran. He said by video link to supporters that Hezbollah would make the decision in the event of an Israeli attack.

“There is speculation about what wound happen if Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Nasrallah said. “I tell you that the Iranian leadership will not ask Hezbollah to do anything. On that day, we will sit, think and decide what we will do.”

According to estimates, Hezbollah has more than 40,000 rockets in its arsenal. Most are of the Katyusha variety with a range under 100 kilometers. It also possesses several hundred Iranian Zelzal-2 missiles with a range between 100 and 400 kilometers.

In 2010, the Pentagon reported the Shi’ite group also has 40 to 50 Fatah-110 missiles and 10 Scud-D missiles. The Fatah can be accurately target and reach most of Israel, including Tel Aviv.

In November 2009, it was estimated that if war broke out, Hezbollah would launch 400 to 600 rockets a day and would be able to sustain the attacks for at least two months.

During the 2006 Lebanon War Hezbollah fired about 3,699 rockets into Israel.

Source

Related posts:

• Syria threatens to attack Israel in case of NATO strike
• Israel attacks Southern Lebanon over al-Qaeda rocket attack
• Israel to issue gas masks to entire population
• Netanyah urges Likud ministers to avoid anti-Iran remarks
• Iran has uranium for 4 nukes, builds US-reach missiles – Israel

In the fourth part of his pre-election manifesto published in Kommersant daily on Monday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin touts the internet as an electronic means for making democracy more responsive to the people.

The premier is running for president in next month’s election.

Expressing the importance of “indispensable” democratic principles, Putin stresses at the same time that democracy-building is not just a matter of “copying and pasting” Western values into Russia.

“Genuine democracy cannot be produced overnight,” Putin states in the article. “You cannot just copy it by reproducing somebody else’s model; society has to be ready for democratic mechanisms.”

The Prime Minister recalls what transpired in the turbulent 1990s, when “democracy” was hastily introduced following the collapse of the Soviet Union.“What we got in the 1990s with the supposed coming of democracy was not a modern state,” writes Putin.

“What we got was turf wars between various clans and…semi-feudal fiefdoms.” By comparison, Russia’s political landscape today – with its more politically informed electorate – faces new challenges that demand new solutions.

“Today, the quality of the state does not match civil society’s readiness to participate in it,” Putin admits, in a nod to the opposition. “Our civil society has become much more mature, active and responsible – they should have the capacity to match increased public activism.”

­Spin doctors and image makers need not apply

In an apparent swipe at Western-style democracy, where, he suggests, substance has taken a back seat to sensationalism, Putin warns of the threat of democracy becoming just another form of cheap entertainment.

“We do not need the circus of various candidates competing with each other to give more and more unrealistic promises,” he says. “We don’t need a situation where all that is left of democracy is the facade, where democracy is understood as a one-time entertaining political show…where substance is forgotten for the sake of shocking statements and mutual accusations.”

Putin goes on to chastise the “spin doctors” and “image makers” who are attempting to “control politicians.”

What modern Russia needs, Putin says, is a “clear, quick and transparent mechanism for preparing, making and implementing both short-term and long-term decisions,” which will promote “constructive dialogue and mutual trust between society and the government.”

Putin advocates the active use of Internet technologies for building the foundation of responsible democratic institutions.

­Downloading Democracy

Russia, with its millions of regular internet users, has the means to overhaul its political system, right at its fingertips.

“Democracy should have mechanisms for direct and constant action… and efficient channels for dialogue, public oversight, communication and feedback,” Putin advises, offering examples as to how to use the available technology.

“It is important to create user-friendly, interactive interfaces for public authorities’ web portals, so that their plans and programs can be fully available, publicly discussed, and their implementation monitored,” he writes.

The top contender in next month’s presidential election says he will “ask web designers to assist the state” with implementing this proposal.

Putin then discusses how the internet can give voters direct participation in the democratic process, while also breaking down the mountain of red tape.

“I suggest introducing a rule for a mandatory review in Parliament of initiatives that collect one hundred thousand or more signatures on the internet,” Putin writes, citing a similar law in the UK. “Certainly the anonymous internet cannot serve this purpose, even though in a number of instances it helps reveal the mood of society… [Therefore] a procedure should be developed for the official registration of those who want to participate in this system”.

Putin believes that a widely available “internet democracy” would give citizens at the city and municipal levels “the opportunity to vote and introduce topical problems at local referendums or Internet polls.”

By way of example, Putin says residents of a given locale “should be given an opportunity to express their opinion on the performance of the head of the district police…after his first year on the job.”

The PM’s plans for promoting “internet democracy” are part of his Electronic Government project, scheduled to be completed by July.

“At present, our citizens have access to all information on political debates in Parliament, on world markets, and on the marriages and divorces of Hollywood celebrities,” Putin muses. “What they can’t do over the internet, however, is retrieve data on their utility bills, review their medical files, or find the name of their district police officer…

“Many state services are now available online… But most people need information that’s relevant for them: on their homes, nearby areas, neighboring parks, schools, and their municipalities.”

“The Electronic Government project should be aimed more precisely at the needs and requirements of the people,” Putin says, summing up his plans. “By means of information technology, state mechanisms should be made comprehensive and accessible to the public.”

­Corruption: the new cool

Addressing Russia’s perennial problem of corruption, Putin cited a conversation between Tsar Nicholas I and his chief of secret police Alexander von Benckendorff, when the former announced he wanted to stamp out graft, and got the following question in return, “Do you think there will be anyone left around you?”

The Prime Minister then quotes a recent poll on the aspirations of Russian children.

“In the turbulent 1990s teenagers dreamed of becoming oligarchs,” Putin said. “But now they want to be state officials; many view public service as a source of fast and easy cash.”

When discussing ways of dealing with individuals in high places fattening their wallets, Putin talks tough.

“The fight against corruption must become a national course, not a matter for political speculation… political exploitation,” he cautions. “We offer real, systemic solutions that will ensure a far more effective rehabilitation of state institutions and the use of new principles in our staff policy – eventually, our goal is to make reputational, financial and material losses so great, that corruption would no longer pay.”

“We will act consistently, reasonably and with determination. We will remove the fundamental causes for corruption and punish particular officials. We will boost motivation for those who want to serve Russia in good faith. We have always had plenty of such people, and they will be given a chance.”

“We have defeated oligarchy, and we will defeat corruption.”

In conclusion, Putin says that his solutions will help to make the power of the people – democracy – a genuine one.

“It’s these solutions that make public service function in the interests of people,” Putin writes. “And together, they ensure that Russia and its people enjoy sustainable and successful growth.”

Source

Related posts:

• Rogozin calls on Russian nationalists to assume rightful role
• Any conflict on Iran is a direct threat to Russia’s security
• Gorbachev urges Russia’s Putin to quit
• US Caught Meddling in Russian Elections
• Russian Leader Tells Top Generals, “Prepare For Armageddon”

Syria could get another chance at a diplomatic escape route from its continuing political crisis as the Russian delegation has arrived on Tuesday to hold talks with President Assad.

A last-ditch delegation to Damascus bearing a personal message for Bashar al-Assad from President Medvedev has been welcomed by thousands of people lining the streets of the Syrian capital.

Russian FM is holding talks with Assad in what many see as the Syrian president’s last opportunity to establish an internationally recognized diplomatic mechanism for resolving the violence that is tearing the country apart.

“It is in Russia’s interest that the Arab nations live in peace and accord,” remarked Lavrov opening talks with Assad. “Every leader in every country must realize his share of responsibility. You do realize yours.”

Amid speculation that the message Lavrov carries may include a suggestion that Assad resign, FM Sergey Lavrov stressed asking a president of a sovereign country to step down is not a Russian profession.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did not exclude the possibility that his letter may include a mechanism for President Assad to relinquish power, in case the violence from both sides does not stop.

The visit comes amid international anger over Russia & China’s veto of what they saw as a “premature” UN Security Council vote. The UK and US simultaneously withdrew their ambassadors to Damascus Monday, with the UK Foreign Secretary calling Assad’s regime “murderous and doomed.” Italy’s Foreign Ministry has allegedly recalled its ambassador from Syria on Tuesday, reports Al Arabia.

The Russian FM dubbed the resolution draft text “one-sided” and international reaction to the veto “hysterical”.

Source

Related posts:

• Will Russia Stand Up to Syrian Challenge?
• Russia rules out UN resolution on Syria
• US asks Russia for UNSC action on Syria
• Russian warships dock at Syrian port
• Russian navy in Syria is thorn in US’s side

US President Barack Obama

US President Barack Obama has warned against the serious risks of a military campaign against the Islamic Republic and underlined diplomacy as the favored solution to the impasse over Iran’s nuclear issue.

Speaking in an interview with the NBC television network on Sunday, Obama said he did not believe Tehran had the intentions to attack the United States, dismissing Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s earlier claim that Iran is developing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) that could reach the US East Coast.

“Any kind of additional military activity inside the Persian Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us. It could have a big effect on oil prices. We’ve still got troops in Afghanistan, which borders Iran. And so our preferred solution here is diplomatic,” Obama said.

The remarks come as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged Western powers to make greater efforts to negotiate a solution to Iran’s nuclear case, warning that a military strike would result in a “disaster.”

“A military option will create a disaster in our region. So before that disaster, everybody must be serious in negotiations. We hope soon both sides will meet again, but this time there will be a complete result,” Davutoglu said during a speech at the 48 Munich Security Conference in Germany on Sunday.

“If there is strong political will and mutual confidence being established, this issue could be resolved in a few days,” he said, adding that, “The technical disputes are not so big. The problem is mutual confidence and strong political will.”

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Khalid Mohamed al-Attiyah also urged the West to refrain from launching an attack on Iran, stressing that the Iranian nuclear dispute should be settled through dialogue and negotiations.

“[An attack] is not a solution; and tightening the embargo on Iran will make the scenario worse. I believe we should have dialogue,” al-Attiyah said.

“I believe that with our allies and friend in the West we should open a serious dialogue with the Iranians to get out of this dilemma. This is what we feel in our region,” he added.

Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, Israel and some of their European allies that Iran’s nuclear program may include a military aspect, Iran insists on its civilian nature, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran’s civilian nuclear program has diverted towards nuclear weapons production.

This is while the Israeli regime is widely known to possess between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads. Furthermore, Tel Aviv refuses to allow its nuclear facilities to come under international regulatory inspectors and rejects any international nuclear regulatory agreements.

Source

Related posts:

• BP exempted from US ban on Iran oil
• Obama tells Venezuela to Cut its Ties with Iran and Cuba
• Obama Asks Iran to Give Back Captured US Spy Drone
• Americans to rally against war with Iran
• Israel ‘master of puppets’ in US Iran onslaught

UK foreign secretary William Hague speaking in Parliament on Monday

The United States has shut down its embassy in Syria. The announcement comes amid mounting reports of lethal government attacks. The UK has followed the suit, summoning their ambassador from Damascus.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague says the British ambassador has been recalled from Syria for consultations. The Secretary has also summoned Syria’s representative in London to the Foreign Office so that he could express his “abhorrence” at the violence in the Arab country.

Hague accused China and Russia of “betraying the Syrian people,” saying their blocking a UN resolution on Syria was a “grave error.” The UK Foreign Secretary pledged to increase pressure on the Syrian government through the UN and other bodies.

“This is a doomed regime as well as a murdering regime,” Hague told British lawmakers on Monday. “There is no way it can recover its credibility internationally.”

Russia says the West is overreacting to the veto Moscow and Beijing used in the UN to block the resolution on Syria, which the two countries perceive as unbalanced. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called such remarks “almost hysterical.”

Earlier, officials said US Ambassador Robert Ford and other diplomats had left Syria on Monday. However, their departure did not come out of the blue. In January, Washington warned it might close its embassy in Damascus, citing concerns over staff safety.

On Monday, the Syrian opposition reported new assaults from government forces, claiming 50 had been killed in Homs city alone. The government, however, denies the accusations, saying the attacks were staged.

US President Barack Obama has said the ongoing conflict in Syria should be resolved without foreign military interference.

Obama said he believed a solution for Syria could be found through negotiations, adding that not every situation allows for the type of military action taken in Libya.

This weekend an American-backed UN Security Council resolution on Syria was vetoed by Russia and China, with both countries citing its unbalanced approach to the Syrian government and the opposition. Russia’s envoy to the UN also said that the draft did not reflect Russia’s proposals on Syria.

Source

Related posts:

• Armed gangs kill Syrian army general
• Will Russia Stand Up to Syrian Challenge?
• Syria protests: 48-year state of emergency lifted as thousands demand Bashar Assad ousted
• Russian Foreign Minister in Damascus seeking hope for Syria
• UN: Assad must go, no foreign forces in Syria

Gendarme forces move toward protesters in Piata Universitatii square, Bucharest January 19, 2012.

Romania’s Prime Minster Emil Boc has resigned following weeks of public protest against IMF-backed austerity measures amid the debt crisis sweeping the European Union.

Announcing his resignation on Television on Monday, Boc said that he wanted to “defuse political and social tension” and to protect the stability of the country.

“We made this decision in order to alleviate the social and political situation in the country, but to not lose what Romanians have won with so much suffering, the country’s economic stability,” Boc said.

The resignation comes after three weeks of public demonstrations demanding the resignation of President Traian Basescu and the Boc government for imposing harsh austerity measures including a 25 percent cut in public sector wages, 24 percent increase in sales tax and a freeze on pensions.

Romania needed to implement the measures to qualify for the next installment of a 20bn euro bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Boc’s resignation makes Romania the sixth European country to see a prime minister fall to the debt crisis.

Basescu has nominated former Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu as interim Prime Minister on Monday.

The European debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, triggering incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.

There are fears that more delays in resolving the eurozone debt crisis, which began in Greece in late 2009 and infected Italy, Spain and France last year, could push not only Europe but also much of the rest of the developed world back into recession.

Source

Related posts:

• Romanian Anti-Government Rallies in Day 10
• Romania Police Fire Teargas at Rally
• Romania Anti-Austerity Protest Turns Violent
• Hundreds of Romanians call on President to Quit
• Euro debt crisis hangs over EU summit

Federal agency would be forced to consider applications to remove TSA screeners.

Following House approval of the measure on Friday, the Senate is set to vote today on legislation that would allow U.S. airports to replace TSA workers with screeners from private companies, a move that could spell the beginning of the end for the highly unpopular federal agency’s role in airport security.

“The U.S. agency must allow airports to switch to private companies for screeners unless it can show the move wouldn’t be cost-effective and would be detrimental to security, according to the legislation, which if passed will go to President Barack Obama for his signature,” reports Businessweek.

“They’ve been trying to force the door open for several years,” Jeff Price, a Denver-based consultant who has written a textbook on aviation security, said of U.S. lawmakers. “It reverses the burden of proof. It is definitely trying to checkmate the TSA.”

At the height of the anti-TSA drive in late 2010, which coincided with a national full body scanner opt out day, a growing number of airports such as Orlando Sanford International began to exercise their right to replace TSA workers with private screeners.

The TSA soon put a stop to this in January 2011 by freezing the number of airports that could use private screeners, a figure that had climbed to 16. Orlando Sanford is one of the airports whose vetoed application to remove TSA screeners will have to be reconsidered under the new legislation.

More private security companies are expected to start up if the legislation passes, providing the additional benefit of adding tens of thousands of private sector jobs to the economy.

“You’ll see companies make themselves known,” said Price. “They’ll make sure every airport operator knows the rules have changed.”

The TSA’s involvement in airport security has become highly unpopular over the last two years, with the federal agency mired in one controversy after another, from its agents constantly caught stealing from travelers, to its mistreatment of children and the elderly, to its habitual lies about the safety of naked body scanners.

In September last year, a petition on the White House website that called for abolishing the TSA received almost 32,000 signatures, forcing TSA chief John Pistole to issue a response.

When Texas lawmakers attempted to pass a bill that would have outlawed the TSA’s “advanced pat down” procedures last year, the feds threatened to impose a no fly zone over the state and the measure was ultimately defeated.

Congress recently gave the green light for $24 million dollars in extra funding for the TSA’s VIPR program, which was responsible for conducting 9,300 unannounced checkpoints last year alone.

For anti-TSA activists, kicking the federal agency out of the nation’s airports will merely be the first step given that TSA workers have now been deployed to staff a network of internal checkpoints. The TSA is now conducting searches of Americans at train stations, bus depots, ferry ports, on highways and even at high school prom nights.

The federal agency was also responsible for training hot dog sellers and other vendors to spot terrorists at the recent Super Bowl, a story that attracted yet more derision from the national media.

Source

Related posts:

• Ron Paul starts campaign to end the TSA
• Occupy Congress: Money out of US politics!
• Obama Signs NDAA Citizen Detention Bill
• Obama’s change: From kidnapping and torture to assassination
• Congressmen’s incomes triple while America gets poorer

A Britain Royal Navy submarine

The UK is sending a nuclear submarine to the Falkland Islands (also known as Malvinas Islands) amid growing tensions between Britain and Argentina over the disputed territories.

According to media reports on Saturday, British Prime Minister David Cameron has personally approved the deployment of the Trafalgar-class vessel, believed to be either HMS Tireless or HMS Turbulent, in the South Atlantic.

However, a British Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokeswoman said, “We do not comment on submarine deployments.”

The heavily-armed submarine is set to be in the Malvinas waters in April for the 30th anniversary of the 1982 war which the two countries fought over the islands also known as the Falklands.

The Royal Navy has already revealed it is sending HMS Dauntless, a Type 45 destroyer, to the Falklands.

Britain’s Prince William arrived in the Malvinas on Thursday for a six-week training mission as a search and rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Buenos Aires has strongly condemned Britain’s “provocative” move to post Prince William, likening it to that of a “conqueror.”

“The Argentinean people regret that the royal heir is coming to the soil of the homeland with the uniform of the conqueror and not with the wisdom of a statesman who works in the service of peace and dialogue between nations,” read an Argentine Foreign Ministry statement.

Situated about 250 nautical miles from Argentina, Malvinas has been a British colony for over 180 years.

Argentina claims sovereignty and the two countries fought a destructive 74-day war over the islands in 1982.

Source

Related posts:

• UK Cannot Confront Argentina
• Britain to send war message to Argentina
• Brazil backs Argentina over Malvinas
• Britain mulls banning social media
• Somalia Next UK’s Oil War Target

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned ministers from his center-right Likud political party to avoid making statements on a possible military attack against Iran, saying such remarks could be damaging to Israel.

“The chatter causes extensive damage, puts Israel on the front line and impedes the sanction efforts,” Ynetnews quoted Netanyahu as saying during a Likud ministerial meeting in al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Sunday.

On February 2, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said if Western sanctions imposed against Iran fail to stop its nuclear program, military action against the country must be put on agenda.

Meanwhile, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon has threatened Iran with a military strike against its nuclear facilities in an attempt to force the Islamic Republic to abandon its nuclear activities.

Speaking at the 12th Annual Herzliya Conference in Israel last Thursday, he said that Iran’s atomic sites are “within striking distance,” adding that “any facility defended by a human being can be penetrated.”

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program. Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the “option” of a military strike against its nuclear facilities.

Iran argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has every right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

Source

Related posts:

• Israel ready to strike Iran without Washington’s approval?
• US, Israel in open rift over Iran
• Iran threatens 150,000 missile response to Israeli Jerichos
• Israel Must Annex West Bank As Punishment, Say Israeli Leaders
• Record crowds protest in Israel

Iranian warships in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari

Two Iranian naval ships have docked in the Saudi port of Jeddah. Iranian officials say the move aims to project the country’s “power on the open seas” and “confront Iranophobia.”

­The supply ship Kharg and destroyer Shaid Qandi docked on Saturday in the Red Sea port in line with orders from the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Iran’s news agency, Fars.

“This mission aims to show the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the open seas and to confront Iranophobia,” Fars quoted navy commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari as saying.

The commander added that the mission would last between 70 and 80 days, but did not specify its route.

Tehran says boosting its naval presence in international waters is in part motivated by the need to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates. This is why Iranian vessels were deployed to the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden last year. In February 2011, for the first time ever, it also sent two naval vessels into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.

The rise in Iran’s naval activity comes amid a steep deterioration of its relations with the West. Its ties with Saudi Arabia are also in poor health, and have gone downhill fast since America accused Tehran of masterminding a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

As if that weren’t enough, relations between Tehran and Riyadh deteriorated further after EU countries agreed to impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports over the country’s nuclear program. In return, Tehran assured the European Union that it is not afraid of its sanctions and that the EU would be the one to suffer. However, Saudi Arabia quickly offered to make up for any shortfall in Europe’s oil supplies. Tehran, in response, called on Riyadh to reconsider, saying its move was unfriendly.

The EU oil embargo has also increased tensions in the Strait of Hormuz – a vital link for oil transit between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran has threatened to block the Strait in the past, and its determination was underlined when a senior official said Iran would “definitely” close the Strait of Hormuz if the EU oil embargo disrupted the export of crude oil.

The situation around the Strait and the Iranian nuclear program – which the country states is purely peaceful – has already prompted Washington to send squadrons of war ships into the area, while Britain and France have expressed willingness to back the US navy in opposing attempts by Iran to block the Strait.

The Israeli Deputy PM added fuel to the fire, claiming that Iran has also succeeded in building a long-range missile capable of putting the US within its reach. These latest statements are very much in line with the position of Israel and its allies who are accusing Iran of using its nuclear industry to mask plans to develop nuclear arms, a charge official Tehran has frequently and vehemently denied.

The gravity of the crisis became particularly apparent when US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Israel could attack Iran in the next few months. The attack would allegedly occur before it enters a so-called “immunity zone”, ie: before Iran has time to fortify its nuclear facilities against attack.

Source

Related posts:

• Saudi Prince: Iran attack spells calamity for world
• War in Iran would mean WWIII
• Iran destroyer ends first global mission
• Iran Fires Back At Clinton, Calls US a Military Dictatorship
• Somalia hails Iran’s Humanitarian Aid

Barely a month after the last US combat troops walked out of Iraq, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday that they would be altering already established plans in Afghanistan and doing the same there in a matter of months.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday announced that American combat troops will plan to vacate the nation of Afghanistan in 2013, a decision that contradicts a long-standing schedule that would have left the US military on an offensive role there through at least 2014.

“Our goal is to complete all of that transition in 2013, and hopefully by mid- to the latter part of 2013, we’ll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise and assist role,” Secretary Panetta told reporters aboard a plane on Wednesday. Prior to the breaking announcement, US combat troops were expected to stay in Afghanistan until the end of 2014. Although they may stay stationed there for just as long still, Panetta wants offensive operations from American personnel winding down sometime during the next year.

The news of the decision comes almost immediately after a recent report that found US intelligence believes the Taliban will be able to successfully regain control even after American forces leave Afghanistan. The US and Taliban were believed to be initiating peace talks in order to negotiate a safe return of Afghanistan to Taliban rule, but more than ten years into a war that has provided few successes and massive casualties and disappointment, Panetta’s new plan seems to speed up the withdrawal process before matters worsen anymore.

Since entering Afghanistan after the September 11 terrorist attack more than a decade ago, US forces have seen casualties amounting to a total of 1,808, according to the latest statistics from the iCasualties website. Insurgent deaths are estimated to be roughly 40 times that figure.

Combined with the recently ended war in Iraq, American casualties in both operations come to more than 6,000.

Despite such a tremendous number of deaths and ten years of fighting, victories for American forces have been few and far between in Afghanistan. It has been nearly a year since former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was executed in neighboring Pakistan, and as the Taliban still has a hold in Afghanistan — and is expected to continue it for the unforeseeable future — furthering operations seems futile.

As American deaths continue to pile up while Operating Enduring Freedom fails to secure a win for the US, the losses seem to overpower any successes American troops have had. The Obama administration has called one of its biggest victories in the War on Terror aside from the bin Laden assassination the execution of two men with alleged al-Qaeda ties late last year. Both men, however, were also American citizens that were killed by drone strikes without ever being brought to trial. Instead of being proven to pose a problem for American forces, the White House reported that the two Americans were merely threats. The actions were viewed by some as a victory for the American military, but as the capabilities of the commander-in-chief were made public, many US citizens called it a loss for freedom.

“Can you imagine being put on a list because you’re a threat? What’s going to happen when they come to the media?” Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul reacted to the news.

“What if the media becomes a threat? … This is the way this works. It’s incrementalism.”

Although the decision to end the war soon would add to the number of ended offensive operations under President Barack Obama’s belt if he secures a second term in the White House, critics are already attacking the administration for the new plan. Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney wasted no time responding to the news on Wednesday, offering some harsh words for the White House if they seriously want to end attacks on the Taliban ahead of plan.

“The president’s mistakes, some of them are calculated on a philosophy that’s hard to understand and, sometimes, you scratch you head and say: How can he be so misguided and so naive?” Romney asked a room of warehouse workers while campaigning in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday.

“Today, his secretary of defense unleashed such a policy,” added Romney. “The secretary of defense said that on a day certain, the middle of 2013, we’re going to pull out our combat troops from Afghanistan. He announced that. He announced that. So the Taliban hears it, the Pakistanis hear it, the Afghan leaders hear it,” said Romney. “Why in the world do you go to the people that you’re fighting with and tell them the date you’re pulling out your troops? It makes absolutely no sense.”

“His naiveté is putting in jeopardy the mission of the United States of America and our commitments to freedom,” he said. “He is wrong. We need new leadership in Washington.”

The US is expected under Secretary Panetta to have only 68,000 troops remaining in Afghanistan by this autumn. A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center published in October revealed that a third of American veterans who have served since 9/11 agreed that the Afghan and Iraq wars were “not worth it.”

Source

Related posts:

• US holds Iraq withdrawal ceremony
• Obama Marks the End of the 9 year Iraq War
• Barack Obama: All US troops to leave Iraq in 2011
• Israel ‘master of puppets’ in US Iran onslaught
• Pentagon seeks new superbomb for Iran

It was on a live television morning show where the GOP frontrunner made this comment.

After which it took little time for Americans to react. Message boards were flooded with criticism about the Republican candidates’ remark.

Romney initially was making his victory rounds after winning the GOP Florida primary just the day before, now he is spending time clarifying his statement, which he says his words are being taken out of context.

Meanwhile, Romney’s opponents immediately took advantage of his live mishap. Today conservatives and liberals are criticizing the frontrunner all while Romney is back on the campaign trail hoping to put it all behind.

Source

Related posts:

• Half of All Americans Poor or Low Income
• Middle-class areas shrinking in US
• Third woman accuses Herman Cain of sexual harassment
• Debate Audience Protests CNN Attempts To Exclude Ron Paul
• Rick Perry Quits Republican Presidential Race

The head of the Russian defense industry, Dmitry Rogozin, has praised Vladimir Putin’s ethnic policy and called upon Russian nationalists to work hand in hand with the country’s authorities.

The outgoing NATO envoy, who was appointed deputy prime minister in charge of the defense industry this year, published his own article in the popular daily Izvestia, which seeks to expand on afeature by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the same newspaper outlining his election manifesto on national and ethnic issues.

In today’s paper, Rogozin praises Putin’s article as an “unprecedented event” that will have long-term benefits for Russian statehood.

The deputy premier writes that the current trend of focusing on various smaller ethnic groups within the Russian Federation is constructive, but the authorities should not neglect the needs and problems of ethnic Russians. He also writes that society must understand that focusing on the problems of ethnic majority is not always extremist or supremacist.

Rogozin gives several examples from history to support his thesis that the leaders of the Russian state have turned to Russian nationalist ideas in times of trouble.This helped them to survive at a time when “the push of ethno-nationalism of the provinces the Soviet power perished and the USSR collapsed like an ice floe along national administrative borders.”

He concludes that in times of crisis, the authorities must turn to ethnic Russians as the main foundation of Russia’s statehood. He adds that that moment has arrived.

The outgoing NATO envoy predicts that the new century, which started with wars and shocks, will be really cruel. He goes on to reveal that four years of work at NATO headquarters filled him with an anxiety about the fate of the world which he has been unable to get over. Dmitry Rogozin believes that we have arrived at a period when resources need to be redistributed.He also states that the United States is no longer ashamed of its “hegemonic plans”. He says that international migration is overwhelming “European Christian civilization” which, according to the Russian vice premier, is in the steepest decline in its history.

Rogozin warns his readers that a weak Russia will fall victim to a world that only respects “brute armed physical force.” He says Russians must concentrate all their efforts on strengthening national unity and on the revival of Russia’s economic and military might, reanimate fundamental scienceand “get smarter spiritually and stronger physically to oppose the internal and external threats to our country.”

The deputy prime minister then blasted the Russian political opposition for targeting Putin in their criticism, saying that “Putin is the only leader left in Europe who has not been run over by a steamroller of American hegemonism.” The official claims that Putin’s defeat will only give succour to American politicians who dream of getting hold of the mineral riches of Siberian mineral resources with the aid of traitors inside Russia.

Dmitry Rogozin says Putin’s article only opened the discussion on the national problem and pledged that from now on, the issue of Russian nationalism will not be hushed up.He said that the Prime Minister’s article was the fruit of cooperation between the government and some Russian nationalist organizations. Rogozin then called upon the “patriotic movement” to bravely integrate itself into official structures of the Russian Federation.

Also outlined were such issues as the defense of ethnic Russians’ rights in foreign countries and highlighting the value of Russian culture and history. He also objects against using the word nationalism when referring to certain Russian organizations, and suggests the word patriotism instead.

At the same time, Rogozin writes that the ongoing crisis requires the consolidation of all “indigenous peoples of Russia” and all active and caring citizens.

Dmitry Rogozin ends his piece by reminding the public about his initiative to create the Volunteer Movement in Support of the Popular Front – the movement in support of the Army, Navy and defense industry. He announced the founding congress of the organization will take place in Moscow on February 26.

Source

Related posts:

• Any conflict on Iran is a direct threat to Russia’s security
• NATO fears resurgent Germany, Russia
• US compels Russia to retaliate
• Russia is concerned about NATO plans to deploy navy in northern seas
• NATO plans campaign in Syria, tightens noose around Iran

An image grab taken from footage broadcast by Iran's state-run Arabic-language Al-Alam TV on August 20, 2010, shows an image from an undisclosed location of what Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said was the test firing of the Iranian surface-to-surface missile Qiam, entirely designed and built domestically and powered by liquid fuel, a day before Iran was due to launch its Russian-built first nuclear power plant

Iranian scientists have already managed to enrich enough radioactive material to successfully produce not just one, but four nuclear bombs, Israel’s military intelligence chief has announced.

General Aviv Kochavi broke the news at a security conference on Thursday. The intelligence chief says he believes Iran would need a year from the word go to actually producing a crude device, and another year or two to manufacture a nuclear warhead that can be installed on a ballistic missile.

Kochavi also claimed that “Iran is very actively pursuing its efforts to develop its nuclear capacities, and we have evidence that they are seeking nuclear weapons. “However, no actual evidence was produced or even referred to at the conference.

The Israeli Deputy PM added fuel to the fire, claiming that Iran has also succeeded in building a long-range missile capable of putting the US within its reach. Moshe Ya’alon, who had just returned from Washington where he discussed the Iran situation with President Obama’s administration, chose to echo Kochavi’s words of warning, saying “The Israeli government will stop Iran one way or another.”

These latest statements are very much in line with the position of Israel and its allies who are accusing Iran of using its nuclear industry to mask plans to develop nuclear arms, a charge official Tehran has frequently and vehemently denied.

Israel, backed by its key ally the United States, has long pushed for tougher sanctions against Iran. Top level officials in both Tel Aviv and Washington DC have recently said they do not rule out a military attack against the Islamic Republic.

As sparks continue to fly around the powder keg of Iran’s supposed nuclear ambitions, the Middle Eastern state is not playing dead either. A defiant President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Thursday that the country is planning to double its military spending over the next year; a sign that is being interpreted by many as “taking a stand” against pressure from the West.

The United States and their NATO allies are also flexing their muscles, with recent transfers of US fighter jets and other military planes to the region. Troops have also been reportedly arriving at various American military bases in the Persian Gulf, with another ten thousand soldiers recently transferred to Israel – allegedly to test the US anti-ballistic missile defense system.

On top of that, two US Navy aircraft carriers – the USS Abraham Lincoln and Carl Vinson – are on patrol in the Persian Gulf and are expected to be joined by the USS Enterprise in March. The USS Annapolis, a nuclear submarine, was earlier reported to have entered the Red Sea and is rumored to be heading towards the Gulf as well.

Together with the US military bases already established in the region – for example, the 5th Fleet, stationed in Bahrain – all of this is interpreted by many as nothing shy of intimidation, and some experts believe the US is trying to provoke Iran into making the first move.

Source

Related posts:

• Israel ‘master of puppets’ in US Iran onslaught
• US and Israel revive largest joint anti-missile drills
• Israel ready to strike Iran without Washington’s approval?
• Israeli agents posed as CIA to recruit terrorists
• Pentagon seeks new superbomb for Iran

US Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul making a speech during one of his campaign stops for the US presidential race, Tuesday 31 Jan. 2012.

US Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has criticized America’s ‘unwinnable, undeclared’ wars overseas, which have led to the nation’s ‘bankruptcy.’

“In the last 10 years fighting these unwinnable, undeclared wars we have spent over 4 trillion dollars,” said Paul on Tuesday in a speech during one of his campaign stops for the US presidential race.

“There is a cost of life and limb, but there is an economic cost as well and the American people are tired of it because they know this country is bankrupt. All great nations go down because they overextend themselves overseas,” the Texas Congressman said.

“I would say it’s time for us to wake up, not wait for an economic crisis to hit… We ought to just wise up, spend our money wisely, defend this country and don’t pretend that we can tell other people how to live,” the presidential candidate said to a cheering crowd.

Paul also said the US cannot be the policeman of the world, adding that American governments should protect the individual liberties of US citizens.

The American politician called for revoking the Patriot Act, which restricts civil liberties of the American citizens and was signed into law by former President George W. Bush.

Paul, who spent much of the speech emphasizing a non-interventionist foreign policy, which he believes can be done by ending wars, has strongly criticized his country’s politics during his campaign for candidacy in the US presidential election this year.

Source

Related posts:

• Ron Paul starts campaign to end the TSA
• Huntsman drops out of GOP race, Ron Paul surges in South Carolina
• US Nationwide Poll: Ron Paul Surges Into Second
• Ron Paul was right about CIA drug deal
• Poll puts Ron Paul neck-and-neck with Obama