Germany Offers Extra Troops for Afghanistan, UK Wants More / Gates Encouraged by NATO Discussions on Afghanistan

Germany Offers Extra Troops for Afghanistan, UK Wants More / Gates Encouraged by NATO Discussions on Afghanistan

(NSI News Source Info) KRAKOW, Poland - February 20, 2009: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he is encouraged by discussions with NATO allies here today on the way forward in Afghanistan.

“There was a lot of focus on the run-up to the Afghan election in August and the importance of added security,” Gates told traveling and international press following the beginning of the NATO defense ministers meeting.

At the meeting, Germany committed forces to help with security in Afghanistan as the election approaches. “We welcome the commitment of additional German forces for the upcoming Afghan national elections,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said.

“For those contests to be credible, voter turnout must be robust and representative, and improving the security situation is the key to making that happen. We encourage other nations to do as we and the Germans have now done and deploy more troops before Afghans go to the polls later this year."

The need for more resources on the civilian side of operations in Afghanistan also was discussed. The ministers heard from Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan Kai Eide.

Gates said it was important to hear from the Afghans, “because it’s fundamentally their fight, and we are helping them. The more we see them in the lead, the better it is.” Gates said he spoke with leaders about the review of U.S. Afghan policy that’s under way and stressed the inclusiveness of that strategy.

“There will be Afghan and Pakistani teams coming to the U.S. to work with us on it,” he said. Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, will meet with NATO allies in Brussels.

Obama’s recent decision to send more U.S. troops to the country will put resources in place to implement the strategy.

In the past, coalition troops have not had the manpower to hold areas after clearing out the Taliban and affiliated terror groups, Gates said. “What we are doing with this troop increase … is to have a more or less continuing presence with our Afghan partners … to bring security to the population,” he said. “Without that kind of security, economic development is very difficult.” Safe havens in Pakistan have contributed to the increase in violence in Afghanistan.

Gates praised the Pakistani military and Frontier Corps, a federal paramilitary force, for re-entering the fray in the tribal areas. The secretary said all of the ministers expressed strong support for training Afghan security forces.

All view the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police as the institutions that will lead the fight. “Particularly with respect to the police, more than in the past, there was an expression of the importance of helping to train and expand the police,” Gates said.

The secretary stressed the importance of civilian contributions to Afghanistan. Governance is key, and the secretary wants aid to local, district and provincial governments as well as the national government.

“The last thing the Afghans want is for us in some way to re-create warlords,” he said. “The question is, How can you engage the local population in defense?” Gates also spoke of the Kyrgyzstan parliament’s vote today to close Manas Air Base, an important logistics hub for the effort in Afghanistan.

“Manas is important, but it is not irreplaceable,” the secretary said. “We are going to continue to work with the Kyrgyz. We [have] not resigned ourselves to this being the last word.” U.S. planners have looked at alternatives to the base.

“Speaking for myself, since the Department of Defense will have to pay the bill, I think we are prepared to look at the fees and see if there is justification for a somewhat larger payment, but we’re not going to be ridiculous about it.” He said he hopes to “walk this back” with Kyrgyz leaders and continue the arrangement.

“Like I said, it’s an important base, but not so important that we will waste taxpayer dollars,” he said. The global economic crisis colors all deliberations, “but there was less mention of that today than I expected,” Gates said. taking significant budget cuts, but “by inference, people aren’t using the

“There have been a few people who have said they are not cutting back on their commitment, but they are not increasing their commitment as much as they would like because of budgetary pressures.”

Many NATO defense ministries are economic crisis as an excuse to cut back on their contributions or to walk away from their commitments to Afghanistan,” Gates said.

Singapore Receives First AEW Gulfstream / RSAF's First Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning Aircraft Returns to Singapore

Singapore Receives First AEW Gulfstream / RSAF's First Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning Aircraft Returns to Singapore

(NSI News Source Info) February 20, 2009: The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) received its first Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning (G550-AEW) aircraft at Tengah Air Base this evening.

Chief of Air Force, Major-General Ng Chee Khern, officiated at the homecoming ceremony. The RSAF has acquired a total of four G550-AEW aircraft to replace its ageing E-2C Hawkeye aircraft which have served the Air Force well for more than 20 years. The Singapore air force’s first Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft on the ramp at Tengah air base after its delivery.

Equipped with a sophisticated mission suite that includes an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, the G550-AEW aircraft is able to detect, identify and track aerial targets.

The G550-AEW aircraft has a longer detection range than the E2C Hawkeye - more than 200 nautical miles.

This will allow the RSAF to see farther and respond more effectively to various operational situations.

The advanced airborne early warning capabilities offered by the G550-AEW aircraft will enhance the robustness of Singapore's networked air defence system.

US Ready To Pay More For Kyrgyz Base Within Limits: Gates

US Ready To Pay More For Kyrgyz Base Within Limits: Gates

(NSI News Source Info) Krakow, Poland - February 20, 2009: The United States is ready to pay more but not beyond a "reasonable" amount to use an air base in Kyrgyzstan to supply US forces in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates addresses reporters during his final press conference at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Krakow, Southern Poland February 20, 2009. "We have not resigned ourselves to this being the last word," Gates said after the Kyrgyz parliament voted Thursday to close the Manas air base. "We're going to continue to work the problem with the Kyrgyz" government, the defense chief said during a visit to Poland for a NATO defense ministers meeting. "I think we are prepared to look at the fees and see if there is a justification for a somewhat larger payment but we're not going to be ridiculous about it," he said. "We're prepared to do something that we think is reasonable." The United States pays 17.4 million dollars a year to use the strategic air base, which serves as a vital hub for moving troops and supplies in and out of Afghanistan. The move by Kyrgyzstan complicates the US mission in Afghanistan just two days after President Barack Obama approved the deployment of 17,000 additional troops there and follows a series of insurgent attacks on vital supply lines through Pakistan. Kyrgyzstan's decision came shortly after Russia offered major financial aid, but Kyrgyz officials have insisted the two issues are not related. The US government was holding "discussions" with the Kyrgyz government and had yet to receive official notification of a decision to close Manas, a Pentagon spokesman said earlier in Washington. "Manas is important but it's not irreplaceable," Gates said. "We have looked at alternatives, and have been talking to a number of different countries," he said on the sidelines of the NATO meeting. Gates said that contingency plans for other supply routes reflected the increased demands that will come from the planned deployment of US troop reinforcements to Afghanistan. "The thinking and the planning that has been done in terms of an alternative network takes into account the increase of troop levels and the requirements that they will impose," he added. After the parliamentary vote in Kyrgyzstan, the legislation was due to be signed by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The United States would then be formally notified and given six months to remove its base, said ruling Ak Zhol party lawmaker Zayinidin Kurmanov in Bishkek. The US base, home to about 1,000 troops, including small French and Spanish contingents, was set up to support coalition forces fighting to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. About 15,000 people and 500 tonnes of cargo move in and out of the Manas air base every month supporting the NATO mission in Afghanistan and the Afghan army. Since Bishkek's announcement, both Russia and Tajikistan have offered their territory to transit non-lethal supplies to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan. General David Petraeus, head of Central Command, which oversees the region, travelled to Uzbekistan on Tuesday to meet President Islam Karimov and discuss regional security. The visit was widely interpreted as a sign that the United States was seeking to use the country as a transit route for Afghanistan. Tashkent closed a US air base that helped serve troops stationed in Afghanistan in 2005, following EU and US criticism over the Uzbek government's handling of an armed uprising in the city of Andijan.

Chinese Navy To Attend Joint Military Exercise In Pakistan

Chinese Navy To Attend Joint Military Exercise In Pakistan

(NSI News Source Info) February 20, 2009: The Chinese navy will participate in a ten-day multinational naval exercise in the seas off Pakistan in March, a Ministry of National Defense official said Thursday.

A task force, composed of the destroyer Guangzhou, a helicopter and 10 members of the marine corps will take part in the "Peace-09" exercise, said ministry spokesman Huang Xueping. The drill, slated for March 5 in the port city of Karachi, was initiated by the Pakistan navy and will be attended by 11 countries.

It includes search-and-rescue exercises, anti-piracy operations and fleet formation defenses. The purpose for attending the operation is to allow the Chinese navy to gain useful experience from foreign counterparts, strengthen its communication capacity, learn how to cooperate with foreign navies in handling new threats and challenges at sea and maintaining regional peace and stability, Huang said.

The Chinese navy, together with task forces from France, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, attended a Pakistan navy-initiated joint military exercise in March 2007.

Singapore's Stealth Frigates Display Power In Navy Drill

Singapore's Stealth Frigates Display Power In Navy Drill

(NSI News Source Info) February 20, 2009: Singapore's six radar-evading stealth frigates displayed their firepower for the first time at a military exercise held by the country's navy and air force, local media reported on Thursday.

The Formidable class multi-role stealth frigates are the latest platforms to enter into service with the Republic of Singapore Navy, and are multi-mission derivatives of the French Navy’s La Fayette class frigate. The frigates are key information nodes and fighting units, and are “by far the most advanced surface combatants in Southeast Asia". The six ships form the 185 Squadron of the Navy.

According to Chinese Language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, some 800personnel participated in the two-day military exercise to end on Thursday in the South China Sea. The newspaper said it was arranged by Singapore's Defense Ministry on board the RSS Steadfast in the South China Sea, 185 km north-east of Singapore, to observe the joint military drill.

Besides six radar-evading stealth frigates, the navy also sent three missile corvettes, one Landing Ship Tank, one submarine.

And the air force sent two F-5 Tiger jets, four F-16 fighter jets, oneE-2C surveillance aircraft and one Super Puma helicopter for the mission. During the two-day drill, the stealth frigates and other vessels demonstrated how to hunt and destroy enemies on land, at sea and in the air.

U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin $6.5 Billion Arms Deal To Taiwan Near Complete

U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin $6.5 Billion Arms Deal To Taiwan Near Complete

(NSI News Source Info) TAIPEI, Taiwan — February 20, 2009: The U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin Corp. reached agreement this week on a $1.3 billion deal to refurbish a dozen antisubmarine aircraft for sale to Taiwan, the “last step” forward in a major arms deal stalled since 2007, according to a senior Taiwanese legislative aide familiar with the matter. “The deal is now going very smoothly,” the aide told Kyodo News on condition of anonymity. “This is the last step,” he said, referring to plans to ink a contract later this month on refurbishing 12 P3-C Orion aircraft that have already been cleared by the U.S. Congress for sale to Taiwan. Long-awaited progress on the deal came as the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama said it would seek to boost defense ties with Taiwan, a sticking point in U.S. relations with China, which claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory. The push for the planes also coincides with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first overseas visit, including to China, as top U.S. diplomat. U.S. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair hinted in a Feb. 12 Senate committee meeting that Washington would sell Taipei more arms. “Taiwan should not be so defenseless that it feels it has to do everything China says,” the former four-star Navy admiral said. “That means we’re going to have to help them some more in order to maintain a balance.” Clinton said Tuesday that Washington’s stance on arms sales to Taipei remains unchanged under Obama, citing the Taiwan Relations Act, which has required Washington to provide Taipei with arms of a defensive nature since 1979. Clinton’s comments generated fresh tensions with China ahead of her arrival Friday in Beijing, which is still fuming over Congress’ approval in October of a $6.5 billion arms package to Taipei. Beijing reacted by canceling a slew of planned military exchanges with Washington, a ban that remains in effect. The $6.5 billion package includes 30 Apache attack helicopters and 330 Patriot (PAC-3) missiles and dates back to a 2001 deal valued at roughly US$18 billion. Amid partisan bickering, Taiwan’s parliament pared down the package over six years and budgeted some items separately. Designed for hunting submarines, the turboprop-driven P3-C planes, whose delivery to Taiwan should start in 2013, were also included in the 2001 package, but preceded by roughly a year the $6.5 billion deal in their notification to Congress, a key hurdle in the U.S. foreign military sales process. But the deal appeared to have stalled since receiving congressional approval in 2007. Though the planes were cleared for sale before Obama took office, the timing of further movement on the deal signals Obama’s readiness to increase military engagement with Taiwan, said Lin Chung-pin, a former deputy defense minister. “This is part of Admiral Blair’s and Secretary Clinton’s message,” Lin said by phone Thursday, adding, “It serves U.S. interests in the region to continue on with these deals.” The American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy in Taipei, declined to comment, referring Kyodo to Lockheed Martin’s Taipei office. The company did not immediately return phone calls Thursday.

In Defense Of The F-22 Raptor

In Defense Of The F-22 Raptor

(NSI News Source Info) February 20, 2009: Depending on who you listen to, the F-22 is either a boondoggle, or the key to America's air superiority in the coming century. One thing that's interesting to note, though, is that Israel, Japan and Australia would all love to get their hands on it, but can't due to the U.S. export ban on the aircraft.(Okay, there's a bit of sticker shock, too.)

One of the big arguments against expanding orders for the F-22, besides the fact that we're kind of hard up for cash these days, is that it plays no counterinsurgency role.

My hunch, though, is that the current defense procurement debate -- which boils down to "Do we need it in Iraq and Afghanistan?" -- is going to seem pretty dated two years from now, when the withdrawal from Iraq is in its final stages and, I'm willing to wager, the withdrawal from Afghanistan has already begun.

Not to be naive about defense contracts, and runaway defense spending in general. Nor to buy into the ways in which Russian and Chinese expenditures are used to drum up alarm, which are misleading.

Russia, like India, has fundamental weaknesses in its defense modernization program and China's buildup is consistent with a deterrent (i.e., defensive) capacity.

Regardless, the cost threshhold is already too high to entertain the notion of conflict with either Russia or China.

But part of what keeps it high on our end is our commitment to weapons systems like the F-22, which maintain our conventional dominance. So while we don't need as many as the Air Force brass is now trying to gin up as "economic stimulus," we will have to move past the F-15s and F-16s that make up the bulk of our fleet now.

As far as alternatives, the F-22 is what we have, and it's what the rest of the world wants. Besides, it's bad enough that the American car industry is about to go under. The least we can do is hold onto our aircraft industry.

Obama Ignores Breakthroughs In Anti-Missile Technology

Obama Ignores Breakthroughs In Anti-Missile Technology

(NSI News Source Info) February 20, 2009: As evidence mounts that North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range missile – possibly, an InterContinental Ballistic Missile with enough range to reach the United States – President Obama no longer has to put U.S. nuclear forces on alert or threaten a pre-emptive first strike on North Korea, thanks to national missile defense interceptors deployed in California and Alaska. When North Korea conducted its first test of a missile with ICBM capabilities in 2006, “some [of the President Bush’s advisors] were urging him to launch a pre-emptive attack” on North Korea, Lt. Gen. Henry A. “Trey” Obering III reveals in a soon-to-be released documentary produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation. Unhappy with that option, President Bush rushed into deployment sea-based missile defense systems on board of Aegis-class cruisers in the Pacific that were still under development and had never been used in combat. He also placed on alert the handful of silo-based interceptors his administration had installed at Fort Greely, Alaska starting in July 2004, and ordered his commanders to intercept and destroy any incoming North Korean missile, something they had never done under battlefield conditions before. The president would not have had that option without the $100 billion the United States taxpayer has invested in missile defense research and deployed systems since 1983, Lt. Gen. Obering and other experts interviewed in the new Heritage Foundation documentary said. Lacking credible missile defense systems, “the only other ability you have is to apologize to those that die,” Lt. Gen. Obering said. Not to develop such systems would be “morally bankrupt,” he added. The Heritage Foundation documentary, screened recently to a select audience of Washington, DC insiders, takes its title, “33 Minutes,” from the time it would take an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) to reach the United States if launched from North Korea or Iran. The Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. intelligence community has now reversed its highly controversial National Intelligence Estimate on Iran that claimed Iran had shut down its nuclear weapons program in late 2003. U.S. intelligence officials now “expect the Islamic Republic to reach [nuclear] development milestones this year,” the Times reported, noting that President Obama himself described Iran’s “development of a nuclear weapon” as one reason giving urgency to his plans to talk to Tehran’s leaders. And yet, despite these alarming developments in Iran and North Korea, the Obama administration has said it plans to review funding of missile defense systems, arguing that the technology must be “proven” for current deployment plans to continue. Heritage Foundation expert Dr. James Jay Carafano, who helped produce the documentary, scoffed at such criticism. “We are long past the time when you could question whether this technology works,” he said, citing dozens of successful tests. Missile Defense Agency officials frequently have described their kinetic kill vehicles, which strike incoming missiles head on and destroy them without using explosives, as “hitting a bullet with a bullet.” But in recent years, the technology has gotten even better, Lt. Gen. Obering said. “We are now able to hit a spot on a bullet with a bullet.” Heritage is encouraging its 400,000 members to host home-screenings of “33 Minutes,” and hopes to strike a television deal, Heritage vice-president Rebecca Hagelin said on Wednesday night after the screening. “We are also making two ten-minute shorts, a seven minute trailer you can download from our website, and even a two-minute version,” she said. Using dramatic computerized simulation of a nuclear missile attack on New York, the documentary also includes an exclusive interview with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who rarely has appeared in public since a series of strokes slowed her down in 2002. As Prime Minister, Mrs. Thatcher was a strong supporter of the President Ronald Reagan’s initial missile defense program, known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. Speaking slowly but emphatically, the “Iron Lady” lived up to her reputation, warning that nuclear missiles in the hands of rogue dictators pose an unacceptable threat to the free world. “If America is held hostage, then the free world is held hostage,” Lady Thatcher said. “American leadership is essential. You know what you must do. You must do the right thing.” Dr. Kim R. Holmes, a Heritage vice president for Defense and Foreign Policy studies, said after the screening that recent comments about missile defense from President Obama and others in his administration were “not encouraging.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated publicly that our deployed missile defense systems “could be a bargaining chip” with the Russians and the Iranians, he said. There is a real possibility that the arms controls battles of the 1980s and 1990s that pitted conservatives against disarmament liberals could come back under the Democrat-controlled Congress, he warned. “History could repeat itself with a new arms control treaty” that could ban missile defense systems. “In a way, we’re victims of our own success,” Dr. Holmes said. Once President Bush took office in 2001 and announced that the United States was withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the administration talked less about missile defense as a Republican-controlled Congress appropriated tens of billions of dollars to test and deploy real systems. That could all change under Obama, Dr. Holmes warned. “We want to put missile defense back on the conservative agenda,” he said. Dr. Carafano noted recent polls showing that 90% of the American people believe a missile strike against America is a credible threat, while a majority believe that missile defense systems should be funded and deployed. “There is a huge credibility gap between what Washington wants, and what America wants,” he said.

US Researcher Honoured In Singapore

US Researcher Honoured In Singapore

(NSI News Source Info) February 20, 2009: THE former chief of the US Air Force Research Laboratory (ARFL) was conferred the Singapore Defence Technology Distinguished Fellowship by Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) on Friday morning. Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean conferring the Singapore Defence Technology Distinguished Fellowship on Mr Lester McFawn. Mr McFawn was lauded for the facilitation of bilateral cooperation between AFRL and Singapore's defence technology agencies during his tenure as Executive Director from September 2003 to January last year. A three-year technology cooperation roadmap was one such joint project that benefits both air forces, expanding research and development cooperation between ARFL and Mindef. The Singapore Defence Technology Distinguished Fellowship was established in 1996 to recognise individuals who have contributed significantly to the development of Singapore's defence technology capabilities. The award was conferred on Mr McFawn in recognition of his outstanding contributions in strengthening defence technology cooperation and fostering excellent defence ties between the US and Singapore, said a Mindef statement.

China Wants Greater Presence Of Developing Nations In UNSC

China Wants Greater Presence Of Developing Nations In UNSC

(NSI News Source Info) United Nations - February 20, 2009: China has called for a greater representation of developing countries, in particular those from Africa, in a reformed UN Security Council.

'In the reform of the Security Council, priority should be given to the greater representation of developing countries, in particular African ones,' China's UN Ambassador Zhang Yesui told an informal plenary of the General Assembly Thursday.

With developing countries accounting for the vast majority of the UN's 192 member states, the composition of the Security Council can no longer reflect the political reality of the UN, he said.

Developing countries have been demanding more say in matters of global peace and security, rejecting the political dominance of the so called P5, or the five permanent members of the Security Council - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain.

They have called for enlarging the council from the current 15 to 21 or 25 members, to include the emerging nations.

During discussions in the late 1990s, Germany, Japan, India, Brazil, South Africa and Nigeria demanded permanent seats on a reformed council.