Libya's Colonal Gaddafi vows to defeat NATO

Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to defeat NATO after warplanes of the Western military alliance bombarded parts of the capital Tripoli.

“NATO is bound to be defeated” Gaddafi said in the speech broadcast on loudspeakers in Tripoli's Green Square as thousands of his supporters held their biggest demonstration in weeks, AFP reported on Friday.

"We are determined to change nothing in our country other than by our own free will ... We are resisting, we are fighting," he noted.

Gaddafi's speech came hours after several heavy explosions hit Tripoli. At least five more blasts were heard in and around the Libyan capital early Saturday.

Libyan government forces shelled the eastern and western gates of the port city of Misratah on Friday, leaving 10 people dead and injuring 40 others, Ahmed Hassan, a spokesman for revolutionary forces said, adding that all the victims were civilians.

The spokesman said Gaddafi forces are bombing Misratah every day. He stated that NATO did not carry out any airstrikes on Gaddafi forces on Friday.

Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi has said the Gaddafi regime and revolutionary forces are holding talks to find a way to end the crisis. However, opposition forces have denied this.

Mahmoudi further explained that the negotiations have been held in Egypt, France, Norway and Tunisia and that they can name the opposition figures who have attended the meetings.

Mikhail Margelov, a Russian envoy to Libya said on Thursday that officials from the National Transitional Council (NTC) have held meetings with the Libyan regime in European capitals including Berlin, Paris and Oslo.

NATO 'monitoring Iran's naval move'

Western military alliance NATO says it is keeping a close watch over Iranian naval presence in the Mediterranean, although Tehran has described the naval mission as peaceful and cordial.

Two Iranian warships sailed through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean for the first time since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, after receiving authorization from Egypt. The vessels, Khark and Alvand, have docked at the Syrian coast for training.

On Wednesday, AFP quoted NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu as saying, "We follow events in the region and we follow these two Iranian warships.”

"We are monitoring events,” Lungescu added.

Iran's Navy has made clear that the mission is aimed at strengthening friendly relations with other countries and conveying Tehran's message of peace and security in international waters.

Israel, however, has placed its Navy on alert, branding the naval movement as a cause for 'concern' and an act of provocation.

The United States -- the most influential NATO member -- has also announced that it will be "watching carefully to see where these ships go and the implications of that."

Iran's Deputy Army Commander Brigadier General Abdul-Rahim Mousavi told IRNA on Tuesday that following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 -- when our Navy made its last passage through the canal -- many countries thought that Iran's military would halt all its activities after a few months, but all plots against our efforts by arrogant powers have been foiled.

Referring to Israel, he said, “The Zionist regime was shocked by the presence of Iran's naval ships in the Suez Canal and this is why the regime has engaged in a propaganda campaign in recent days.” 

NATO, Russia Meet at Odds over Missile Shield

NATO and Russian military brass went into talks Wednesday, bound in outrage over terrorism after Moscow's airport bombing, but at odds over cooperation on a missile shield for Europe.

Russian General Nikolai Makarov flew into Brussels to meet with fellow chiefs of staff from the 28-nation alliance in the latest step in thawing ties between the former Cold War foes following Russia's 2008 war with Georgia.

The NATO-Russia Council, the forum for discussion between the two military powers, issued a statement condemning Monday's "terrorist bombing" at Domodedovo airport.

"Our countries stand together in the fight against terrorism, and we are determined to expedite our efforts to counter this scourge," the statement said.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who has championed better ties, had already offered the Western alliance's "solidarity" after the death of 35 people in the suicide attack.

"We are in this fight together," he said after Monday's blast. "This is why in the NATO-Russia Council we have to strengthen our cooperation in the fight against terrorism."

Wednesday's talks follow a landmark Lisbon summit in November, when Russia agreed to allow NATO to transport more goods to Afghanistan through its territory, and explore the possibility of working with the Western alliance on the missile defence system.

NATO decided at Lisbon to deploy radars and missile interceptors to protect Europe from rogue attacks, and invited Moscow to cooperate in the project to ease Russian fears that the system was aimed against its nuclear deterrent.http://www.defencetalk.com/nato-russia-missile-defense-shield-31642/

Next Generation Flight Demonstration Team

NATO to take new tasks in Afghanistan

NATO's senior official in Afghanistan Mark Sedwill has said foreign forces will remain in the war-wrecked country far beyond 2014 to take new tasks.

The NATO official made the remark at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that a new phase in the war will begin in 2014 despite the planned handover of security to Afghan forces, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sedwill further explained that the tasks and roles of NATO forces would undergo a change and stressed that after 2014 priority would shift to providing socio-economic support for the war-torn country rather than military and security aid.

Last November, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced that NATO would start handing over control to Afghan security forces from the beginning of 2011 and the transition would be completed by the end of 2014.

Despite the presence of some 150,000 US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan, the war-hit country remains devastated by militancy as well as persistent bombings and ground attacks by foreign troops that supposedly target militants but leave many civilians dead.

The rising number of military casualties comes with a comparable rise in Afghan civilian death toll. The latest report on Afghan civilian deaths from the United Nations shows a 20 percent increase in the first 10 months of 2010. read more

Russia threatens NATO with nukes

The Russian president has called on NATO to clarify Moscow's role in a European missile system, warning if no agreement is reached, Russia will be forced to deploy “offensive” nuclear weapons.

"So this is not a joking matter. We expect from our NATO partners a direct and unambiguous answer," Dmitry Medvedev said during a meeting with Russia's NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin.

"In either case, we are either together with NATO, or we separately find an adequate response to the existing problem," he said.

Under former US President George W. Bush the United States proposed a plan to deploy a missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic -- a plan which was fiercely opposed to by Russia. Moscow said it would deem such a deployment a threat to its sovereignty and would properly respond to it.

US President Barack Obama later scrapped the plan proposing Russia to join the missile system.

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on a joint missile system plan in Europe during a NATO-Russia Council meeting in Lisbon in November last year.

The parties agreed to formulate terms for cooperation on the missile system by June 2011. readmore

'US should slash military budget'

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Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell says the ballooning budget deficit can only be reduced through trimming the military and entitlement spending.

With the US national debt now standing at record high of over $14 trillion, Republicans have ramped up their calls to slash state funds for a rash of scientific researches, housing and education plans as well as other non-military programs instead of military spending -- in an effort to rein in the country's huge budget deficit. 

Powell bristled at Republican leaders for playing politics with the budget, saying the only antidote to tackle the budget deficit is to curb the military expenditures. 

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, the former secretary of state under the presidency of George W. Bush said he does not think the Pentagon's budget should be made sacrosanct. 

"When the Cold War ended 20 years ago, when I was chairman and [Dick] Cheney was Secretary of Defense, we cut the defense budget by 25 percent. And we reduced the force by 500,000 active duty soldiers, so it can be done. Now, how fast you can do it and what you have to cut out remains to be seen, but I don't think the defense budget can be made sacrosanct and it can't be touched," Powell stated. 

He made the remarks as the administration of US President Barack Obama has proposed cutting $78 billion from the military budget in the next five years. 

The proposal has prompted grave concerns among many Republicans, who are deeply worried about the US involvement in overstretched wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the necessary financial support for the missions abroad. 

NATO, Russia missile systems to stay separate: NATO

ATO wants to cooperate with Russia on amissile defence shield for Europe but the two sides should keep their systems separate, the Western alliance's chief said ahead of a meeting of military brass.

The former Cold War foes agreed at a landmark summit in Lisbon last November to explore the possibility of cooperating in the European missile defence system, but left the complex details of how it would work for later.

"For the first time NATO nations and Russia will be cooperating to defend themselves," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a video blog.

"I consider the cooperation on missile defence politically important for the development of the overallsecurity relationship with Russia," he said.

Rasmussen expressed the 28-nation alliance's vision -- apparently far from Moscow's -- ahead of a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels on January 26 at the level of ambassadors and military chiefs.read more

The S-300P Surface To Air Missile

US likely to lift ban on ISRO, DRDO soon Read more: US likely to lift ban on ISRO, D

WASHINGTON: The US, which imposed curbs on trade with defence entities like ISRO and DRDO following India's nuclear tests in 1998, has set in motion regulatory changes to lift the ban soon, thus fulfilling a commitment made by President Barack Obama. A formal notification to lift the ban by the US Department of Commerce for this purpose is in advanced stage, top US officials said. "These regulatory changes will begin the transformation of the bilateral export control policies to realise the full potential of the strategic partnership between our two countries," Eric Hirschhorn, Under Secretary for Industry and Security, US Department of Commerce, told PTI. But he did not give any time line for the removal of restrictions, which is eagerly awaited in India. However, official sources said a formal notification in this regard could well be issued before the scheduled India visit of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke from February 6-11. US imposed curbs on trade with these defence entities in the wake nuclear tests carried out by India in 1998. "The Department of Commerce is working quickly to publish a regulation that will remove Indian space and defence-related entities from the Entity List and enact other India-specific export control changes," a senior US official said. They clarified these notifications would be India specific. "We have a separate track on these issues in partnership with India," another Administration official said. "As you'll recall, in New Delhi, the President together with the Prime Minister announced a resolution of unilateral export control issues and the President announced his support for India in multilateral fora. That has not changed and we continue to move forward on those steps," the official said. Obama, during his India visit, had assured India that he would remove these companies from the entities list. "Commensurate with India's nonproliferation record and commitment to abide by multilateral export control standards, the US will remove all civil space and defence-related entities from the Department of Commerce "Entity List." "Inclusion on this list generally triggers an export license requirement when exported," said a fact sheet issued by the White House during the Obama visit. Read more: US likely to lift ban on ISRO, DRDO soon - The Times of India US likely to lift ban on ISRO, DRDO soon - The Times of India

'N Korea may mount attack on US'

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has hinted that North Korea can become capable of launching a surprise attack on American territories within five years.

Gates told reporters during a visit to Beijing that North Korea was becoming a direct threat to the United States and could develop an inter-continental ballistic missile within five years. 

"I think that North Korea will have developed an inter-continental ballistic missile within that time - not that they will have huge numbers or anything like that," Reuters quoted Gates as saying 

"But they will have, I believe they will have a very limited capability," he added. 

The United States and South Korea have conducted several massive joint sea- and air-drills in east of the Korean Peninsula in recent months. 

Pyongyang, which claims ownership of nearby waters, considers the military exercises as an infringement of its territory, but Seoul says the drills are defensive. 

North Korea has called for negotiations within weeks, adding it would open a liaison office to ease tensions on the peninsula. 

South Korea, on the other hand, has rejected the North's latest offer of talks, saying that Pyongyang should first show its seriousness about denuclearization. 

The North accuses US President Barack Obama of plotting with regional allies to topple the country's government, insisting that its nuclear program is a deterrent against US forces in the region. 

JR/PKH/AKM

'West must end biased nuclear stance'

Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar says the West needs to put an end to its selective approach concerning the nuclear issue.

“Global powers should stop their double standards regarding the use of nuclear technology,” Mohammad-Najjar said at a news conference in Oman on Monday. 

“Hegemonic powers allow the Zionist regime [of Israel] to stockpile nuclear weapons while seeking to deny peaceful nuclear activities to a country such as Iran,” he added. 

Mohammad-Najjar further pointed out that using peaceful nuclear technology is Iran's inalienable right, adding that Tehran's nuclear program is under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

Iran supports the idea of nuclear technology for all, but nuclear weapons for none, the Iranian official went on to say. 

According to the minister, Iranophobia is a failed policy pursued by the United States, aimed at sowing discord between Iran and regional countries. 

“Iranophobia is a threadbare policy by the US … which calls Iran a threat to regional countries … in order to create divisions between Iran and other countries.” 

He also emphasized that such policies are doomed to fail since the Islamic Republic has maintained friendly relations with all its neighbors. read more

NATO oil tanker torched in Pakistan

Militants in Pakistan have once again attacked NATO's supply line in the country's southwest, torching an oil tanker heading towards neighboring Afghanistan.

The militants opened fire and set an oil tanker ablaze in the town of Khuz-dar in Baluchistan province on Tuesday, a Press TV correspondent reported. 

No casualties have been reported. 

Militants have destroyed hundreds of tankers and trucks carrying oil and supplies to US-led forces in Afghanistan over the past two years. 

The US military and NATO rely heavily on the Pakistani supply route into the war-ravaged country. 

Supplies arrive by sea in the southern port city of Karachi, where security analysts believe most of the Afghan Taliban leadership is now hiding. 

Convoys of trucks and tankers must travel through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan. 

Militants in the rugged tribal area have staged violent attacks in recent months, torching hundreds of NATO vehicles destined for foreign troops in war-wrecked Afghanistan. 

In response, Pakistani authorities have deployed large contingents of police and military forces on all major arteries in the area to curb the attacks. 

Other routes, largely through Russia and the Central Asian states, have proved too costly, both politically and economically. 

US, China re-open military exchanges

In Beijing the US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with his Chinese counterpart, Minister of National Defence Liang Guanglie, at the start of a long-awaited visit to formally re-open military exchanges. 

In a press conference Gates spoke of the need for firmer ties between the militaries of the two countries, saying closer and more regular dialogue was necessary to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations that might lead to frictions or even conflict. 

One area where he spoke to allay Chinese fears was US naval exercises in the Yellow Sea: 

Before his visit to Beijing , Mr. Gates said that the Chinese had clearly the potential to put some of US capabilities at risk. 
The Chinese minister who expressed concern over US dealings in Taiwan, said China posed no threat to any third country and that it was decades behind nations with more advanced technology. 

Washington is also concerned about the Chinese military buildup , but Beijing says its defense spending is still far lower than that of the United States. 

China's defense budget for 2010 was 80.3 billion dollars whereas the US approved a $708 billion defense budget for 2011 fiscal year. 

In addition to American naval maneuvers, experts said the Chinese would likely use Gates's visit to press him on his country's support for Taiwan, as well as its position on Chinese claims to sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands and the South China Sea. 
America, meanwhile, should have a different set of concerns. 
Two Chinese weapons programs discussed by the international media in recent weeks were the development of a stealth fighter and a so-called carrier killer which is capable of sinking an aircraft carrier from up to 1,800 miles away. 

'Americans angry at Obama admin.'

American people, including the Democrats, are angry with US President Barack Obama's administration because he has not delivered on his promises, says an expert.

“We have got the people on the left all angry, because Obama has not delivered on obvious promises in regards to healthcare, [and] in regards to financial reform,” author and lecturer Allen Roland from San Francisco told Press TV in an interview on Sunday. 

“And we have the Tea Party people who have actually used that anger to have a huge election victory last year,” Roland went on to say. 

“The majority of American people wanted universal healthcare. No one listened to them. The majority of American people wanted true financial reform. It never happened. So, a lot of the people in this country are in the midst of a deep depression,” he added. 

On Saturday, US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head outside a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona, in a shooting spree that left six people killed. 

Among the dead were a nine-year-old child and a senior US district judge. Eighteen others were also wounded in the incident. 

Twenty two-year-old Jared Lee Loughner was taken into custody after being restrained by people in the crowd after the shooting. 

“I think it is much bigger than just a random act. And I think we should be very worried about that,” Roland said, commenting on the Tucson shooting incident. 

“There is a lot of anger out there ... and this is like a symptom of that anger in some ways,” he concluded. 

China needs to be transparent in defence issues: USA

Ahead of the resumption of Sino-US military-to-military dialogue, the Obama administration has asked China to be more transparent in its defence communication with America, saying there is uncertainty about Beijing's future capabilities and intentions.

"Much like the region itself, China's future remains uncertain," Michael Schiffer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia policy, said in his remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

This is a remarkably complex moment in the history for China as it acquires new capabilities and begins to play a greater role in regional and global economic and security affairs, he said.

"And it is this very uncertainty about China's future capabilities and intentions that makes the military component of the bilateral relationship so extraordinarily challenging and so extraordinarily important to get right," he said.

"It is the question, in fact, that we each have about each other, because China certainly has questions about us, just as we have questions about China, that underscores the importance of developing a deeper dialogue and a more durable military and security relationship between our two countries," Schiffer said.

This is an issue that the US talk quite openly and frankly with the Chinese, he said. "We emphasise on our part that while we understand that China is a growing economic power, it's modernising its military in ways that are natural aspects of any country's development, (but) the lack of transparency about the nature of China's investments, its intents and its doctrine has caused disquiet in the United States and the region."

"It is, therefore, in both of our countries' interest, indeed in the interest of the region as a whole, that we are able to have forthcoming and candid conversations about China's military modernisation and in particular about some of the anti-access capabilities that we think we see in the pipeline, but which we understand imperfectly," Schiffer said.

"It is precisely because we seek to avoid the sort of uncertainty and insecurity which if not managed properly can lead to a dangerous and unwanted security competition that we recognise the need to build a healthy military-to-military relationship, ... that as we like to say is sustained, reliable and continuous," he observed.

His remarks came ahead of Defence Secretary Robert Gates' visit to Beijing next week for the bilateral military-to-military dialogue.

China needs to be transparent in defence communication: US

Iraq to buy $26 billion worth of armaments from United States

Iraq to buy $26 billion worth of armaments from United States
Iraq will buy armaments worth $13 billion from the United States by 2013 and will spend another $13 billion on weapons later, a Baghdad newspaper reported citing an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman.

Al Ittihad quoted Major General Mohammed Al Askari as saying that Iraq has already concluded a contract worth more than $13 billion with the United States.

The money will be used to buy aircraft, helicopters, tanks, other armored vehicles, warships and missiles, to enter service with the Iraqi defense and interior ministries.

Iraq to buy $26 billion worth of armaments from United States | Defense | RIA Novosti

'Iran-P5+1 talks to be held Jan. 21-22'

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says the next round of comprehensive talks between Iran and the P5+1 group will be held in Istanbul on January 21 and 22.

Davutoglu made the remarks on Saturday, noting that European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will travel to Turkey to start preparations for the talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. 

Earlier, Ashton said she had expected the talks to resume on January 20. 

Iran and the P5+1 group — Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany — wrapped up two days of multifaceted talks in Geneva last December. 

The date was reportedly set after Davutoglu held separate telephone conversations with the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, who is acting as Tehran's main negotiator, and Iranian Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. 

Davutoglu and Salehi discussed the subjects on the agenda of the upcoming talks in a phone conversation on Thursday. 

The two officials also reviewed some important regional and international issues and developments. 

In December, Jalili said the comprehensive negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group would focus on "common concerns." 

Afghan war kills another US-led soldier

A roadside bomb has claimed the life of another US-led soldier in southern Afghanistan bringing the number of foreign soldiers killed in the war-ravaged country to 11 so far this year.

NATO said in a statement that the service member died on Sunday. 

It did not release the casualty's nationality nor did it provide any further details. 

Last year was the deadliest for international troops in the nearly decade-long war, with more than 700 killed. 

Despite the presence of some 150,000 foreign forces, militant attacks are picking up in the war-torn country. 

The rising foreign casualties have sparked anger among the public in the countries allied with the United States in Afghanistan. 

The invasion of Afghanistan took place with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the country. Nine years on, however, Afghanistan remains unstable and civilians continue to pay the price. 

The Pentagon admitted in a recent report that the United States has failed to establish security in Afghanistan. 

India to hold firm in Afghanistan despite threats

KABUL: Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna vowed Sunday that security threats would not drive his country out of Afghanistan during a two-day visit to Kabul.

Speaking after talks with Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul, Krishna said that threats to Indians working in Afghanistan were “real” but added his country was “not going to be cut down” by them.

Nine Indians died in a Taliban suicide attack on foreigners in the Afghan capital in February last year, while a suicide bomber killed 41 people in an attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul in 2008.

“The threat to our mission unfortunately is real,” Krishna told a press conference, while adding he was “confident” that the Afghan government could provide the necessary protection.

“Let me hasten to add India is not going to be cut down by such threats,”he said. “We will continue to remain in Afghanistan as long as the legitimately elected government of Afghanistan wants us to be here.”

The two sides also discussed “the need to deal firmly with safe havens for terrorist groups that continue to exist outside Afghanistan’s borders,” Krishna said.

Both India and Afghanistan have pointed the finger at Pakistan over security threats, suggesting elements within its power structures fund and support extremism within its borders.