August 2012
86 posts
US military carried out cyberattacks against enemy...
From Raphael Satter, the AP: The U.S. military has been launching cyberattacks against its opponents in Afghanistan, a senior officer says, making an unusually explicit acknowledgment of the oft-hidden world of electronic warfare.
Marine Lt. Gen. Richard P. Mills’ comments came last week at a conference in Baltimore during which he explained how U.S. commanders considered cyber weapons an...
Should Canada participate in NATO missions not...
From Elinor Sloan, Canadian Defense & Foreign Affairs Institute: The clincher is the content of the generalized reference to “NATO” when we talk about a “NATO operation.” The discussion above reveals that when an operation includes a large US combat element then Canada’s experience is, relatively, a much better one than when the operation is not built on a strongly engaged US core. This is...
Commanders of ‘Big Three’ counter-piracy task...
From EU NAVFOR: On 24 August 2012 the Force Commanders from the EU Naval Force Somalia – Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR), NATO Operation Ocean Shield (TF-508) and Combined Task Force 151 (operated by the Combined Maritime Forces – CMF) met on board the EU NAVFOR flagship ITS San Guisto (Italian Navy) to further enhance the cooperation and coordination in the fight against piracy.
The flagships,...
Attacks on Afghan Troops by Colleagues Are Rising,...
From Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Graham Bowley, the New York Times: Even as attacks by Afghan security forces on NATO troops have become an increasing source of tension, new NATO data shows another sign of vulnerability for the training mission: even greater numbers of the Afghan police and military forces have killed each other this year.
So far, Afghan soldiers or police officers have killed 53...
Why independent Scotland must stay in NATO
From George Kerevan, the Scotsman: [A]t its Chicago summit in May, under heavy German pressure, Nato altered its so-called “deterrence and defence posture”. Instead of a traditional refusal to give a “no-first-strike” guarantee, Nato now promises never to use nuclear weapons against a country that does not possess them, and is a signatory of the UN non-proliferation treaty (that means Iran, by...
Panetta recommends Marine General to replace Allen...
From Phil Stewart, Reuters: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has recommended GeneralJoseph Dunford, the No. 2 Marine officer, to lead the war effort in Afghanistan once the outgoing commander of U.S. and NATO troops rotates out of the post, a U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The decision will ultimately rest with President Barack Obama and his nomination would need to be approved by...
German experts assess the NATO Summit in Chicago...
From Joerg Wolf, Atlantic-Community.org: The heads of state and government of the NATO member states had three priorities in Chicago: the mission in Afghanistan, military capabilities and international partnerships. Atlantic Initiative surveyed 32 German experts between May 23rd and June 7th from think thanks like the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, the German Council...
U.S. Plans New Asia Missile Defenses
From Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes, Wall Street Journal: The U.S. is planning a major expansion of missile defenses in Asia, a move American officials say is designed to contain threats from North Korea, but one that could also be used to counter China’s military.
The planned buildup is part of a defensive array that could cover large swaths of Asia, with a new radar in southern Japan...
What if Europe Fails?
From Thomas Wright, the Washington Quarterly: Western Europe has been an integral part of the U.S.-led international order since its foundation in the years after World War II. NATO’s greatest role was undoubtedly in waging a successful cold war against the Soviet Union while consolidating democracy in Western Europe, but it continues to play a central part in international politics. In recent...
Breaking the public-sector/private sector...
From Derek S. Reveron, the New Atlanticist: As Cyber Command matures, it tends to dominate national cybersecurity discussions. Ellen Nakashima’s reporting notes coordination across the government occurs, but an anonymous official sees “DOD has the responsibility to defend the nation” crowding out the civilian departments of the government. Given how military commanders are as much policy...
Russia's spy services identified as 'the most...
From RIA Novosti: Russian “special services” are the most active foreign espionage organizations in the Czech Republic, the Czech Security Information Service (BIS) said on Wednesday.
The BIS 2011 report states that Russian spies work under different covers, mainly at Russian diplomatic missions, and in numbers that are utterly unjustified given the current status of Czech-Russian...
U.S., Russia, Norway in Joint Naval Drills
From RIA Novosti: U.S., Russian and Norwegian naval forces are holding joint firing exercises in the Norwegian Sea, a Russian Navy official said on Wedensday.
From UPI: Taking part in the drills are the U.S. Navy’s Farragut guided missile destroyer, Russia’s Admiral Chabanenko Udaloy II class destroyer and Norway’s MS Nordkapp frigate.
From Arctic-info: In the first phase,...
Belarus sacks foreign minister after teddy bear...
From Reuters: Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko sacked his foreign minister weeks after a diplomatic row with Sweden and the European Union over a pro-democracy stunt in which hundreds of teddy bears were air-dropped over the country.
Lukashenko’s office on Monday announced the dismissal of Sergei Martynov, who had held the post since 2003, without providing any reasons for the...
Is there a NATO consensus on the future of the...
From Marten Lindberg, ISN: Will an increased NATO presence in the Arctic alter the politics of this region for the worse? Some observers assert there are reasonable grounds for fearing a “NATO-Russia standoff” in the Arctic. Relations were especially tense in 2007 after Russiaplanted its flag on the ocean floor beneath the North Pole. The Canadian foreign minister,Peter MacKay, famously stated...
NATO and China Meet in Gulf of Aden
From Allied Command Operations: Yesterday, NATO and China met in the Gulf of Aden, where Commodore Ben Bekkering welcomed his Chinese counterpart Rear Admiral Zhou Xuming onboard NATO’s counter piracy flagship, HNLMS Rotterdam.
“International cooperation is the key to success”, explains Bekkering. “With so many navies - NATO, EUNAVFOR, CMF and individual nations, unity by...
Complexity in the Caucaus: Regional rivals...
From Mark P. Hertling, Foreign Policy: European Command’s strategy of Theater Security Cooperation — and USAREUR’s contribution as part of that strategy in training and exercising with the militaries and engaging with military and political leaders — is bearing significant results. The four nations that make up “the GAAT” are integrating forces in NATO out of...
Poland's desire for own missile defense system...
From Rachel Oswald, Global Security Newswire: Poland’s recently expressed interest in acquiring an independent capability to counter theater-level missile attacks has much to do with insecurities over whether the United States, with all of its competing priorities, can reliably be counted on to defend Polish interests, according to issue experts and former diplomats.
Polish President Bronislaw...
Obama warns Assad not to cross ‘red line’ on...
From Barack Obama, the White House: I have indicated repeatedly that President al-Assad has lost legitimacy, that he needs to step down. So far, he hasn’t gotten the message, and instead has double downed in violence on his own people. The international community has sent a clear message that rather than drag his country into civil war he should move in the direction of a political...
Obama to 'reach out' to Karzai over Afghan attacks...
From CNN Security Clearance: President Obama is “deeply concerned” about the growing number of deadly attacks on U.S. forces by Afghan security forces, and plans to contact the Afghan president to discuss taking tougher actions, he said Monday.
“I’ll be reaching out to President (Hamid) Karzai,” Obama told reporters at the White House, adding, “We’ve...
French Foreign Minister: Syria's Leader Low on...
From Inti Landauro, the Wall Street Journal: Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s regime is running out of cash to face the insurgency in the country and France plans to discuss with Russia ways to reduce Syrian government funding, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabiussaid Monday.
The Syrian government has enough money to hold out for only a few months without the support of Russia and Iran...
Official: British intell helped Syrian rebels...
From Leon Watson, the Daily Mail: British intelligence on Syrian troop movements is helping rebels in their fight against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, it was revealed today… .
The official told The Sunday Times the British authorities ‘know about and approve 100 per cent’ signals intelligence from their Cyprus bases being passed through Turkey to the rebel troops...
Report: Germany helping Syria rebels with spy ship...
From Reuters: Germany is helping Syrian rebels by providing them with information gathered by a German navy vessel off the coast of Syria, a newspaper said on Sunday, without citing sources.
Germany’s Bild am Sonntag said the boat had spying equipment from the German intelligence service on board, enabling it to observe Syrian troop movements up to 600 km (375 miles) inland.
...
Chinese warships dock in Israel for first time
From the Times of Israel: Three Chinese warships are in Haifa Port as part of a four-day goodwill visit marking 20 years of Sino-Israeli diplomatic relations — the first time Chinese naval ships have docked in Israel.
The visit, which includes tours and celebratory events, comes amid reports of strengthening military and diplomatic ties between China and Israel. China is a top Israeli trading...
France and Poland hope Weimar Triangle can revive...
From Polskie Radio: After noting slow progress in the formation of an EU defence capability,Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Warsaw yesterday for talks with Polish defence minister Tomasz Siemoniak, said that “there’s an existing form of cooperation that could be revived, as we are among those countries that are key for European defence… .”
“The actualisation of EU defence is timely and and...
USAF Gen. Breedlove begins duties as NATO's new...
From NATO: After receiving the flag of Allied Air Command Ramstein (AC Ramstein) from NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Sir Richard Shirreff during a change of command ceremony on 31 July, General Philip M. Breedlove, arrived at the NATO compound on Ramstein Air Base early this Friday morning.
After meeting his deputy commander, German three-star Friedrich Wilhelm Ploeger,...
Canada: Europe needs to do much more
From Rob Gillies, the AP: Canada’s finance minister reiterated his frustration with Europe and urged countries there to take overwhelming action to recapitalize their banks and deal with the sovereign debt crisis ahead of a two-day visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Wednesday it’s frustrating because they’ve known for years what needs...
Number of NATO forces killed by Afghan recruits...
From Ariel Zirulnick, the Christian Science Monitor: The number of ‘green-on-blue’ attacks in Afghanistan this year has surpassed that of all 2011, eroding trust and deepening concern about the security transition.
For the sixth time in two weeks, a member of Afghanistan’s fledgling security forces opened fire on his international trainers today, this time killing two US...
German court lifts ban on domestic military ops
From the Local (Germany): Germany’s military was given the right to conduct combat operations within the country in case of a terror attack of “catastrophic proportions” after the country’s top court ended a post-war taboo… .
The deployment of troops in Germany was only acceptable in “states of emergency of catastrophic proportions,” the judges ruled, but...
Video of allegedly Iranian UAVs captured by Syrian...
From Spencer Ackerman, Danger Room: The opposition to Bashar Assad says it’s captured spy drones made by Assad’s patron, Iran. And it’s put the evidence on YouTube… .
Syrian rebels show off three smallish, unarmed surveillance drones they say they downed. Walking a viewer through what looks like a machinist shop displaying their banner, the Syrians display two robotic planes built around...
Hadley: US should provide Syrian opposition with...
From Stephen J. Hadley, the Washington Post: What began as a peaceful civil resistance is increasingly degenerating into a sectarian war between Syria’s Sunnis and its Alawite Shiites that will almost surely spread beyond its borders. A war between Sunni and Shiite — backed by the Sunni Arab states on the one hand and Shiite Iran on the other — risks destabilizing not just Syria but also Iraq...
US General: Marines conducted 'cyber attacks' in...
From Max Cacas, SIGNAL Scape: Along with all the other tools at their disposal, U.S. Marine Corps commanders now have complete cyber resources as part of the traditional Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) operational doctrine, said Lt. Gen. Richard P. Mills, USMC, deputy commandant for combat development and integration and commanding general of the Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command,...
The Case for a European Defence Review
From Marcel Dickow, Hilmar Linnenkamp, and Christian Mölling, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik: What the EU needs now is a broad assess-ment of the existing national capabilities with regard to their potential for the cre-ation of joint European capabilities – the European Defence Review (EDR).
For this task, an independent commission of high-level experts from the security policy community...
Turkey's defense market worth $14 billion
From UPI: A recent report has valued the Turkish defense industry market at $14 billion.
The statistic is contained in “The Turkish Defense Industry: Market Opportunities and Entry Strategies, Analyses and Forecasts to 2017,” MarketResearch.com reported.
As Turkey’s economy is booming, the country is seeking to ramp up spending on its military. Turkey’s...
NATO-EU: Working to fill gaps in defense...
From NATO: NATO’s relations with the European Union go back twenty years: the 1992 Maastricht Treaty was the first EU treaty to mention NATO. Today, at a time of financial crisis and reductions in defence budgets, it is more important that ever for the two organizations to strengthen cooperation, spend more intelligently, and improve the complementarity of their defence capabilities in order to...
EU membership losing its appeal in Turkey
From Kristina Karasu, Spiegel: In 2004, shortly before the start of accession talks with Brussels, polls showed that 75 percent of Turks still wanted their country to become a member of the EU. Now that figure has plunged to less than 50 percent. “Public enthusiasm for the EU began to wane years ago,” explains Istanbul-based political scientist Cengiz Aktar. “The euro crisis...
Through NATO-EU cooperation, Dutch ship frees crew...
From NATO: On 13 August 2012, the armed boarding team of the Dutch naval vessel HNLMS Rotterdam freed a pirated vessel in the Gulf of Aden and detained six suspected pirates.
The successful action was the result of a jointly-conducted operation of ships and patrol aircraft from NATO and the European Union.
HNLMS Rotterdam is the flagship of Operation Ocean Shield, NATO’s counter-piracy...
Poland wants to replace old Su-22 bombers with...
From RIA Novosti: Poland is planning to replace its obsolete Soviet-built Sukhoi Su-22 strike aircraft with an unmanned strike aircraft (UCAV) system, Deputy Defense Minister Waldemar Skrzypczak told TVN24 television on Tuesday.
“We are looking at possibly swapping some of our Su-22 fleet for long-range pilotless systems with high strike capability,” Skrzypczak said on the Poland...
European powers no longer have role across Pacific
From Robert M. Farley, the Global Times: Over the past decade, NATO has increasingly stepped outside of its traditional regional boundaries and begun operating in far flung corners of the world.
Most notably, the group has played a large role in the war in Afghanistan, and more recently in the toppling of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
The relative success of the latter mission, combined...
NATO's partnerships in Asia
From Jorge Benitez, the Global Times: There are many misperceptions that NATO partnerships are a precursor to NATO expansion into other regions and the addition of new members to NATO from Asia or the Middle East. This is not true.
NATO is not seeking new members in other regions, and NATO’s partners in other regions are not seeking NATO membership. NATO partnerships outside of Europe...
Czech Republic hosting exercise for NATO air...
From CTK: Seventeen NATO countries have confirmed participation in an extensive air force exercise to be held in the Czech Republic in September, the sole such event the Alliance holds this year, Defence Ministry spokeswwman Jana Zechmeisterova has told CTK… .
The government made a decision on the Ramstein Rover 2012 exercise on Czech territory last November… .
The exercises will...
Cyber Command seeks permission for cyber attacks...
From Ellen Nakashima, the Washington Post: The Pentagon has proposed that military cyber-specialists be given permission to take action outside its computer networks to defend critical U.S. computer systems — a move that officials say would set a significant precedent.
The proposal is part of a pending revision of the military’s standing rules of engagement. The secretary of defense has not...
Ramstein spy linked to Russia
From RIA Novosti: A NATO civilian worker arrested last week on suspicion of espionage in western Germany has been linked to Russian intelligence, The Times reported on Monday.
The 60-year-old NATO employee at the Ramstein Air Force Base, whose name was given only as Manfred K., was offered over $10 million by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for access to classified information, the...
The Folly of Forgetting the West
From Simon Serfaty, the Hoover Institution: The trip into a new, post-Western order will be more chaotic if the West loses its assurance and cohesion. On both sides of the Atlantic, such a risk is discernible and even growing. Too much doubt among Europeans about the United States, as well as about each other; and too much doubt among Americans about themselves, but also about the states of...
'Spillover may force Washington' to intervene in...
From Kenneth M. Pollack, the Washington Post: If Washington does choose to intervene, however, there are ways to reduce these risks. First, America could start providing lethal assistance, particularly more advanced anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to help kill off the regime’s heavy weapons faster and allow the opposition to prevail more quickly.
Even more important, the United States and...
Poland wants to build missile defense system with...
From RIA Novosti: Poland wants to cooperate with France and Germany on the establishment of its own missile defense system, Polish Press Agency reported on Saturday, quoting Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak as saying.
“We want it [creation of the missile defense system] to happen in cooperation with France, Germany and other our allies. NATO welcomes the initiatives of the countries to...
Czech diplomat warns that defense cuts are...
From CTK: Czech outgoing ambassador to NATO Martin Povejsil and his successor Jiri Sedivy emphatically warned against continued decreasing military expenditures in the Czech Republic and other NATO countries, in an interview with CTK.
Povejsil said he considers the situation very serious and that the allies would be faced with a real danger if member states, with a few exceptions, continue to...
$730 million gap in Czech military budget
From CTK: The Czech military is to lower the number of officers at its headquarters, including the General Staff, to slim down the commanding structure but the restructuring will not afflict combat units, Deputy Defence Minister Jiri Sedivy told CTK yesterday… .
The current Czech military is sized for the annual budget of some 55 billion crowns [$2.69 billion], but the military has only...
EU ambassadors blast Belarus over diplomatic spat...
From Reuters: Belarus’s relations with the West took a turn for the worse on Friday as EU governments agreed to reprimand Minsk for expelling the Swedish ambassador in a row over a pro-democracy stunt involving an air drop of teddy bears on Belarus’s territory.
At an emergency meeting in Brussels, senior envoys of European Union states said the dispute, in which Belarus...
Belarus: Lithuania 'must answer to us' for role in...
From the Local (Sweden): Lithuania on Friday was mulling a request by Belarus to probe claims by Swedish human rights activists that they flew across the border to make a drop of freedom teddy bears, angering Minsk.
Prosecutors in the Baltic state said they were asked for legal assistance “to investigate a possible breach of the state border when a Swedish-piloted light aircraft crossed...
Obama's Europe Pivot
From John Vinocur, the International Herald Tribune: A funny thing has happened to Barack Obama out there on the campaign trail. The president of the Pacific pivot looks remarkably interested in Europe… .
A dissonant theme from the American presidential campaign takes over at this point. It has come in the form of remarks from Obama about “headwinds” from Europe’s financial...
