In Russia, Turkey and the Great Game: Changing teams the new line-up of the players in the Great Game was set out. Here, Eric Walberg considers the implications for the Middle East. A vital playing field in today’s Great Game is Palestine/Israel, where again there is a tentative meeting of political minds between Russia and Turkey. In defiance of the US and much of Europe, both endorsed the Goldstone report
by Rick Rozoff for Stop NATO Twelve months ago a new U.S. administration entered the White House as the world entered a new year. Two and a half weeks later the nation’s new vice president, Joseph Biden, spoke at the annual Munich Security Conference and said “it’s time to press the reset button and to revisit the many areas where we can and should be working together with Russia.” Incongruously
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s visit to Turkish last month shows that Turkey and Russia are rapidly developing close economic and political ties, notes Eric Walberg For all intents and purposes, Turkey has given up on the European Union, recognising it as a bastion of Islamophobia and captive to US diktat. As Switzerland bans minarets and France moves to outlaw the niqab, the popular Islamist government in Istanbul moves in the
RIA-Novosti reports: Ukraine may join NATO Response Force in 2015-16 Bruessels: Ukraine has been invited to join the NATO Response Force as a partner country in 2015-16, a spokesman for the NATO military committee said Wednesday. Colonel Massimo Panizzi said Ukraine would become “the first non-NATO country to join the Response Force.” The Response Force consists of rapid deployment forces with land, air and sea components, capable of swiftly reacting
Reuters reports that Ukraine’s Viktor Yanukovich, a strong candidate for president, said he would keep the country out of NATO if he wins the January 17 Presidential election (The most recent opinion polls indicate he would beat Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a February 7 run-off vote).
I have mentioned the Russian short range missile Iskander-M several times on this blog: this is the missile which Russia will deploy if the USA persists in fielding its anti-missile system in Europe. Some have asked how exactly this new Russian missile could defeat the US anti-missile systems. Here below is a very interesting article below partially answering this question. I will try to find an equally well-informed article about
The BBC reports: Nato ministers have agreed to resume high-level contacts with Russia, making what US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called a “fresh start”. Relations conducted through the Nato-Russia Council had been frozen by Nato in protest at the brief war last summer between Russia and Georgia. Mrs Clinton said areas of mutual concern included Afghanistan. translation: NATO sulking at Russia for beating Georgia in 4 days did not
This will appear in the next issue of Al-Ahram Weekly http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/ Sense is returning to East-West relations, despite the US and NATO, affirms Eric Walberg 2008 will be remembered as a turning point in Russia’s relations with the West. It was a tumultuous year, with Kosovo, missiles in Europe and NATO’s seemingly relentless march eastward like thunderclouds gathering on Russia’s horizon, which finally burst 8 August over South Ossetia, bringing
Press TV reports: Russia to deploy Iskander-Ms by 2015 Missile brigades in western Russia will be armed with Iskander-M missile system by 2015 to counter a planned US missile shield in Europe. “By 2015, the Iskander system will be put in service with five missile brigades, primarily near Russia’s western border and in the Kaliningrad Region,” a source in the Russian Defense Ministry was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying
Russia has recently embarked on the most massive military maneuvers since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Interestingly, the role of the Ground Forces was this time rather limited and it is the Navy and the Air Force which took center stage. The maneuvers, code name “Stability 2008” included the use of Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic rocket bombers, IL-86 inflight refueling aircraft, Tu-22M3 intermediate range heavy bombers, A-50M
Very interesting article from the New Slav Media (NSM) website Does US Play NATO and UN Cards Against Russia? NSM remarks: For me something wrong is going on behind the doors of US and UN. I read many times that two ways were taken under serious consideration to achieve world government/domination – 1) dissolving UN and creating sort of new League of Democracies (a’la McCain), 2) or through UN takeover.
Press TV reports: Pakistani military reiterates it will not allow any incursions by the US-led NATO troops into its volatile tribal region near Afghan border. There has been no change in the rules of engagement with the US forces and the Pakistani military will not permit any aerial or ground incursions by foreign troops, the security officials said at a briefing on anti-militancy operations in the North West Frontier Province
by Venik (check out Venik’s blog) The visit of Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (from here forward known as Hoop for the sake of brevity) and twenty six NATO representatives to Georgia was largely uneventful. As before, NATO gave Saakashvili no plans, schedules, or guarantees. Georgian president’s appeals to accelerate NATO membership program for his country fell largely on deaf ears. However, some of NATO chief’s remarks are worth consideration. NATO
Press TV reports: Russia would counter Georgia any day Russia’s president says he would even confront a NATO-member Georgia, as the alliance signals an ‘open road’ for Tbilisi relations. In a recent meeting with a group of journalists, academics and experts in Moscow, President Dmitry Medvedev said he would have ordered an attack on Georgia regardless of its status with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Georgia has concentrated its
I ended my previous article about The real meaning of the South Ossetian war with the words: historians will probably look back at the month of August 2008 as the moment when Russia decided to strike back at the Empire for the first time. Today, I want to pick up this conclusion and take a look at what might happen next. But before looking into the future, I want to
Press TV reports: Russia has halted cooperation with NATO as tension is running high between Moscow and the West after the Georgia conflict. NATO announced on Thursday that it had received notification from Russia that the country was halting military cooperation with the alliance. “We have received the notification from the Russians through military channels and they say that they have decided to halt international military cooperation events between Russia
Another excellent commentary by Pepe Escobar:
By Dmitry Rogozin for the International Herald Tribune The U.S. administration is trying to stick the label of “bad guy” on Russia for exceeding the peacekeeping mandate and using “disproportionate force” in the peace-enforcement operation in Georgia. Maybe our American friends have gone blind and deaf at the same time. Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of Georgia, is known as a tough nationalist who didn’t hide his intentions of forcing Ossetians
Russia Today reports: NATO encouraged Georgia Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, has sent an official note to representatives of all member countries in Brussels in connection with Georgia’s military actions against South Ossetia. He’s calling on them not to support Mikhail Saakashvili. “Russia has already begun consultations with the ambassadors of the NATO countries and consultations with NATO military representatives will be held tomorrow,” Rogozin said. “We will caution
BUCHAREST, April 4 (RIA Novosti) – Any further expansion by NATO toward Russia’s borders will be interpreted as a direct threat to the country’s security, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. “The appearance on our borders of a powerful military bloc… will be considered by Russia as a direct threat to our country’s security,” Putin told a news conference after meeting with leaders of the 26-nation alliance on the
