Thursday, February 26, 2015

NATO Finds Arab Backdoor to Arm Kiev

Finian CUNNINGHAM | 25.02.2015 | 19:29

The announcement this week that the Kiev regime struck a major deal with the United Arab Emirates for military weapons raises strong suspicions that the US-led NATO alliance has found a new backdoor into Ukraine. We say «new» because it is believed that the US and its NATO allies, Poland and Lithuania, are already covertly supplying weapons to the Kiev regime. 
Kiev President Petro Poroshenko hailed the new strategic partnership with the Persian Gulf kingdom while attending the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi. Poroshenko, who was royally received by UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nayhan, declared himself a «president of peace» but that Ukraine, or rather the rump state that his regime commands, needed strong defence because of its «Russian enemy».
A giveaway to the real significance of the surprise development is that Poroshenko and his Arab hosts also reportedly held discreet meetings with Pentagon officials and US weapons manufacturing executives during the weapons exhibition. That indicates that Washington is coordinating the expected arms transfers.
Although the Kiev-UAE partnership lacked any public detail, one can safely assume that the Arab supply of weapons to Ukraine is simply a conduit for American and NATO military support to the Western-backed junta, which seized power in Ukraine last year in an illegal coup. Its war of aggression on the separatist eastern Ukraine has inflicted at least 6,000 deaths, mainly among the ethnic Russian civilian population. 
Earlier this month it soon became clear that Washington and its NATO allies would pay a heavy political price for an audacious move to openly increase their military involvement in the Ukraine conflict. When Washington announced that it intended to go ahead with Congressional provisions to send «lethal aid» to Kiev there was much international consternation over such a reckless move.
Moscow warned Washington that any further military support to the reactionary, anti-Russian Kiev regime on its western border would constitute a «disastrous escalation». US President Barack Obama then appeared to back off from the proposal to supply lethal munitions. 
America’s normally servile European allies also baulked at the Washington arms move. Germany, France and even Britain indicated disproval by stating that they would not be following suite by sending arms to Ukraine. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel was perhaps the most forthright in her reservations. While on an official visit to Washington she reiterated her «no weapons» position to US media while being received in the White House by Obama.
No doubt a disgruntled European public reeling from economic austerity, unemployment and seething contempt for unaccountable EU leaders had a concentrating effect on the various political capitals to not throw more fuel on an already raging Ukrainian fire. The idea of going along with incendiary American militarism in Ukraine and further antagonising Russia would provoke a political storm across Europe. Hence the usually trusty European «yes men» had to defy Washington’s recklessness. 
That incipient divergence between the US and EU appeared to unnerve Washington, with the latter fearing that its anti-Russian axis and sanctions tactics might be unravelling. President Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry were at pains to emphasise American-European «unity» over Ukraine and alleged «Russian aggression» – in spite of the fact that European leaders were, publicly at least, repudiating Washington’s weapons policy. 
So, rather than risking an open split in the NATO ranks, Washington and its allies seem to have found an ingenious way around that problem – by getting the UAE to be the front end for weapons supplied to the Kiev regime.
Several media reports have talked up a «new defence industry» in the UAE. But whatever new industry there may be in the oil-rich kingdom, it is largely a value-adding or marketing platform for established Western manufacturers. The UAE defence sector is dominated by US military imports and American weapons giants, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. The Emirati «partner» operations are a way for the royal rulers to claim kudos for diversifying the kingdom away from its economic dependence on oil exports by seemingly creating hi-tech sectors. For the Western weapons firms, the Arab retail image can provide a convenient public relations cover for global arms-dealing. American and European weapons can thus be sold to parts of the world where it might otherwise be viewed as unethical – thanks to these sales being booked as originating from the UAE.
The fact remains, however, that the United Arab Emirates is the world’s fourth biggest arms importer, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). That is an astounding record considering that the UAE population is some nine million, with only one million of those being Arab nationals, and the rest being expatriate cheap-labour workers from Asia and Africa. Expressed on a per capita basis, the UAE is by far the world’s biggest weapons importer. And this is a country that has never been at war since its founding in 1971 after Britain granted formal independence. 
In its latest global trends report, SIPRI notes that the Persian Gulf Arab states have doubled their imports of weapons in recent years, from an already high base. Saudi Arabia is now the fifth biggest importer globally. Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are also major sales destinations for the Western arms industry.
The Arab Gulf weapons market is dominated by the US, with some 40 per cent of all sales. Other major exporters to the region are Germany, France and Britain. Russia has also a strong presence in the market. But the lion’s share goes to US and its NATO allies. Germany in particular has stepped up its arms exports to the Persian Gulf, which has caused political problems among the German population for the Merkel government as it is being seen to prop up autocratic and repressive regimes. Leopard tanks and armoured personnel carriers are lucrative German exports. 
The Persian Gulf arab regimes are thus in effect NATO arsenals. And the tiny UAE with its $13 billion military budget is a NATO arsenal par excellence. 
The Kiev regime’s new contract with the UAE for military weapons supply is thus a front for NATO supplying weapons to Ukraine. Conveniently for Western governments, the arrangement tends to obscure a NATO link in the eyes of their public, but only superficially.
That bodes badly for the shaky ceasefire that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin helped broker earlier this month. Putin has already deprecated the continuing hostile attitude of Poroshenko and other Kiev leaders, who routinely accuse Russia of aggression and talk with bravado of fighting a «total war». Washington and the EU are indulging this inflammatory rhetoric with renewed sanctions on Moscow and laying the blame for the conflict on Russia. 
While Western taxpayers bail out the Kiev regime with a $40 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, the junta is evidently using the money to go on a weapons spree and to crank up its NATO-supplied war machine. The UAE weapons sales deal is just a backdoor for NATO to embark on further warmongering in Ukraine and toward Russia.
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/02/25/nato-finds-arab-backdoor-to-arm-kiev.html

Anonymer Demo Aufruf "Nie Wieder Krieg" Samstag 28.02. 14 vor Reichstag

Der nachfolgende Aufruf ist gut, wer auch immer ihn verfasst hat, er wurde mir genauso zugespielt, er wird übers Netz und die sozialen Medien vertrieben. Ich meine er verdient Unterstützung. (Die Bloggerin)
Nie wieder Krieg. Keine weiteren Forderungen.
Deutschland raus aus dem Ukraine-Krieg. Die NATO ist ein VERTEIDIGUNGS-Bündnis. Die Vorbereitung eines Angriffskrieg ist eine schwere Straftat und verstößt gegen das Grundgesetz. http://dejure.org/gesetze/StGB/80.html
Ob Merkel/Holland sich nur vom weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte reinwaschen wollten oder ob sie wirklich Erfolg haben wird die nahe Zukunft zeigen. Alles hängt jetzt davon ab, ob die USA aufgibt oder weitermacht. Vor einem Jahr hatten wir bereits durch Steinmeier eine ähnlich scheinbare Lösung, die schon am nächsten Tag im Massaker vom Maidan ausradiert wurde und Obama brüstet sich heute damit. Das gleiche jetzt...hinter den Kulissen laufen weiterhin Vorbereitungen zum Angriffskrieg. USA und UK liefern Waffen und Soldaten, die EU das Geld und Sanktionen.
Wer jetzt nicht aufsteht soll sich schämen..Auch Gewerkschaften und die Kirchen sollten jetzt etwas HÖRBARES tun. Deutschland RAUS aus dem Krieg , die russische Antwort kriegen wir alle ab.
Nach unserer von vielen als naiv bezeichneten Überzeugung ist bei dieser einfachen und wichtigen Angelegenheit niemanden auszugrenzen:
Egal ob Mahnwachen, Antifa, Linke oder Konservative (CDU,AfD, Pegida etc.) steht gemeinsam ein, zusammen!!
Wir sind keine Partei! ... ihr braucht Euch nicht zu lieben, ihr habt jetzt nur eine Bürgerpflicht: Denen da oben eine Grenze aufzuzeigen. Die brauchen einen Dämpfer und müssen spüren, daß es Grenzen gibt für ihre Gier. Deutschland/EU/die Welt haben reichlich Probleme: wir steuern auf einen Währungs-Crash zu, auf TTIP, wir sind Spielball der USA. All das kann man später diskutieren. Auch wenn Du Dich von der USA beschützt fühlst, Demokratieabbau toll findest, CDU wählst, willst Du ernsthaft , daß Deutschland in den Krieg zieht? Dass die USA permanent Kriege führen, die in den 3. Weltkrieg führen können. Ernsthaft? Willst Du dabei zuschauen?

Wir hoffen, wir können diese Chance nutzen...
Den ganzen Sommer waren wir auf der Straße, um die US-Kriegstreiber zu stoppen und jetzt führen die Deutschen den geplanten Krieg der NATO an? dazu noch zusammen mit den Kiew-NAZIS, die eine demokratisch gewählte Regierung der Ukraine geputscht haben? und ausgerechnet gegen Russland, denen unsere Vorfahren im WW2 über 20 Mio Tote beschert haben? Deutschland an der Ostfront 2.0 ? das kann ja wohl nicht wahr sein!!
P.S. Auch wenn Du keine Zeit für Demos hast, Mithelfen ist das Mindeste was wir von Dir erwarten. Teilen ist das eine, Wichtiger ist, ALLE Freunde einladen, das geht oben rechts "Einladen->Freunde einladen"... Hier http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.christian-hufgard.de%2Ffacebook_alle_freunde_einladen_update-2014-08-08&h=ZAQG4LvYq steht zudem ein Trick., den man auch sonst gut gebrauchen kann. Wir brauchen 500.000 Einladungen , 2000 Leute a 250 Freunde , das ist machbar... es kostet Dich 5 Minuten

Operation to Relocate Suleyman Shah Tomb Mirrors Turkey’s Geopolitical Agenda

Pyotr ISKENDEROV | 26.02.2015 | 08:53

Turkey exerts increasing influence on the situation in and around Syria. The military raid across the Syrian border demonstrates the desire to advance its interests while playing the «Syrian card». Syria has become a battle field for belligerent groups fighting against each other (the government forces, Kurds and the Islamic State). It makes the country an element of any strategic plans. 
Hundreds of Turkish forces with 39 tanks, 57 armored cars, 100 vehicles and 572 personnel have entered war-torn northern Syria to evacuate troops guarding a historic tomb demolishing it and moving the remains to a different site. The burial site was the one and only Turkish enclave abroad in accordance with the Franco-Turkish Pact of 1921. Suleiman Shah was the grandfather of the Ottoman Empire's founder Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, the state which was at the height of its power during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was a powerful multinational, multilingual empire controlling vast territories in Europe and Asia, including Syria.
Syria was separated from Turkey as a result of WWI to make the tomb an extraterritorial Turkish territory. In accordance with Article 9 of the Treaty of Ankara signed between France and Turkey in 1921, the tomb «shall remain, with its appurtenances, the property of Turkey, who may appoint guardians for it and may hoist the Turkish flag there». The Treaty does not state that the tomb is deemed to be the territory of Turkey. Until recently there had been no problems with the status of the site guarded by 40 Turkish soldiers. The West-incited civil war in Syria keeps on raging on as the founders of «new world order» are gradually losing control over the events. Now the events summoned up the spirit of Suleyman Shah. Islamic State troops neared the tomb and demanded that Turkey evacuate the site. The threat coming from the radical group was used as a pretext for invasion plans. Turkey stopped short of direct confrontation with the Islamists. The Islamic State and Turkey have one common enemy – Syrian President Bashar Assad. Turkey had waited for changes as the events unfolded. The changes did take place. The territory near the border has moved under the control of local Kurds as a result of Kobane battle with the Islamic State formations. The relations between Turkey and Kurds have been strained for many years, but the Kobane victory allowed Turkey to conduct a raid and relocate the tomb without direct confrontation with the Islamists. 
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu let know the tomb may be finally moved to Turkey. For the time being the tomb is relocated to the Esme region of Aleppo, not far from the Turkish province of Şanlıurfa. 
Turkey pursues a long-term goal. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu are staunch advocates of Neo-Ottomanism, a Turkish political ideology that promotes greater political engagement of the modern Republic of Turkey within regions formerly under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, its predecessor state, as well as within Eurasia. 
It may not be the last time Turkey invaded Syria, especially in view of the situation involving Ankara, Kurds and the Islamic State and the fact that the United States pursues its own interests in Syria. 
According to Yeni Safak (1), a conservative and Islamist Turkish daily newspaper, the United States is about to send over one thousand military to the Middle East. The mission is to train opposition together with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Syrian insurgents are training to fight the Islamic State. The outlet asks a rhetoric question - does it mean they are trained to fight Syrian government forces too? 
The Syrian government has condemned the incursion as «flagrant aggression». It said that Turkey had informed its Istanbul consulate about the operation but had not waited for Syria's consent. In contrast, Turkey had reached a previous agreement on the operation with the Kurdish leaders in Kobane. 
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said today that the country «will submit the aggressive action taken by Turkey on its territory to the court of the international community and the European Union», referring to the special operation carried out by the Turkish army to evacuate the tomb of Suleyman Shah from Syrian lands controlled by Islamic State. «The behavior of Ankara shows that it is violating Syrian sovereignty to the detriment of bilateral relations. We reserve the right to defend our land and properly respond to this aggression at the right time», he added.
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/02/26/operation-relocate-suleyman-shah-tomb-mirrors-turkey-geopolitical-agenda.html

Kiev trying to invalidate weapons withdraw plan, undermine Minsk deal – militia officials

Published time: February 26, 2015 01:54
Edited time: February 26, 2015 03:17 

Ukrainian armed forces take their position near Debaltsevo, eastern Ukraine (Reuters / Gleb Garanich)
Ukrainian armed forces take their position near Debaltsevo, eastern Ukraine (Reuters / Gleb Garanich)
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​Kiev is trying to invalidate the plan of heavy weaponry withdrawal from the demarcation line in eastern Ukraine, thus undermining the Minsk peace deal, Donbass officials claim. An OSCE top official says Kiev is not pulling away its artillery.
According to the peace deal, heavy weapons must be withdrawn from the agreed demarcation line starting February 22. But Donetsk representative Denis Pushilin and Lugansk representative Vladislav Deynego have claimed in a joint statement that Kiev is “attempting to invalidate the plan.”
The Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which has a monitoring mission in the conflict area, said Kiev has so far failed to begin moving its weapons from the demarcation line.
“Ukrainian military forces keep silent for the moment being. They don’t pull out their heavy weaponry and say that a pause is needed. That is what really triggers certain concern of the OSCE, as this pause may last indefinitely,” said the Russian ambassador to the organization, Andrey Kelin.
Kiev selectively follows the Minsk deal, a spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Andrey Purgin, told Rossyia 24 TV channel on Wednesday. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN humanitarian mission in Donbass are trying to achieve the cancelation of Kiev’s “blockade” of the eastern regions, he added.

“Given the fact that we withdrew nearly 400 units of heavy equipment [from the demarcation line], we don’t want to return them to their positions,” Pushilin and Deynego said, expressing hope that the Thursday meeting of the contact group “will help avoid making such mistakes.”
Pushilin also said they are being “forced to address the Ukrainian party, as well as the guarantors of the peace process – Chancellor Merkel, President Hollande, President Putin – to urge them to prevent a failure of peace intentions.”
Pushilin and Deynego also expressed hope that Ukraine will comply with the signed document and start the pull-back of artillery.
The Russian ambassador to the OSCE, Andrey Kelin, added that Kiev has not yet given a promise to draw back its artillery. On the other hand, it has been more than two days since the militia said they are ready "to grant access for the mission to the locations where guarded weapons would be stored,”he said.
The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, Ilkka Kanerva, said the rebels have denied “unlimited access” in eastern Ukraine to the OSCE’s monitoring mission.
In turn, the militia said they have sent an inventory to the OSCE – and that the observers are rejecting invitations to witness the actual movements of the weapons.

“We believe the OSCE's role is crucial. Once again, we confirm that we are interested in OSCE presence at all weapons-withdrawal events. The OSCE must be present to monitor the withdrawal of the weapons by both sides," rebel spokesman Eduard Basurin said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Purgin told Rossyia-24 that the “OSCE is denying to record the pull-back of our weapons.”
He also noted that the humanitarian situation in Donbass has worsened since the ceasefire started and that the region is “close to a catastrophe,”as Kiev has imposed a blockade.
The members of the Trilateral Contact Group – Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE – have seen a decrease in the intensity of heavy shelling, according to the press secretary of Ukraine’s ex-president, Leonid Kuchma, who represents Kiev in the peace negotiations.
Peace in Ukraine is “fragile” but it’s in place, said the OSCE's chairperson, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, while speaking at a Helsinki Commission hearing at US Congress on Wednesday.

Kiev asking for more guns

Following the agreement for weapons withdrawal, Ukraine continued appealing to other countries for more weapons.
The first deputy chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, Andrey Parubiy, passed down a list of weapons that Kiev wants from the US during his meeting with Republican Senator John McCain in Washington on Tuesday. “Some of the weapons are non-lethal. For example, radars and UAVs (drones), radio communications, and interference suppression devices,” said Paruiby. “The lethal weapons include, primarily, anti-missile systems, including Javelin (anti-tank missiles).”
Parubiy clarified that US President Barack Obama has already seen the list, adding that US commitment to send weapons could encourage other countries to follow suit. Moreover, during his visit to Ottawa, Parubiy stressed that Canada could help influence Washington's decision. “Canada is kind of the authoritative voice that can push [for] that. It can influence the US decision.”
Also, former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili – who recently became an adviser to Ukrainian President Poroshenko – is currently on a working trip to Washington, with the mission to persuade the US to supply Kiev with arms.
Source: http://rt.com/news/235563-kiev-weapon-withdrawal-plan/
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