Source-NYTimes.com
Besieged by international sanctions over the Iranian nuclear program including a planned oil embargo by Europe, Iran warned its six largest European buyers on Wednesday that it might strike first by immediately cutting them off from Iranian oil.
Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency said the warning was conveyed to the ambassadors of Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Greece and Portugal in separate meetings at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. Officials said an earlier report by Press TV, Iran’s state-financed satellite broadcaster, that Iran had already cut supplies to the six countries was inaccurate — but not before word of the Press TV report sent a brief shudder through the global oil market, sending prices up slightly.
“Iran warns Europe it will find other customers for its oil,” the Islamic Republic News Agency said. “European people should know that if Iran changes destinations of the oil it gives to them, the responsibility will rest with the European governments themselves.”
The European Union decided last month to impose an oil embargo on Iran, one of the world’s leading petroleum exporters, as of July 1 as part of a coordinated campaign of Western sanctions aimed at pressuring Iran to halt its disputed uranium enrichment program, and the Europeans have been making arrangements since then to find other sources of supply.
The combination of sanctions, including severe restraints on Iran’s ability to conduct routine banking and shipping operations, have caused severe disruptions to Iran’s economy as the nuclear program remains an increasingly acrimonious issue between Iran and the West.
The Iranian warning came on a day of mixed messages emanating from Iran’s hierarchy about its nuclear program, which Western nations and Israel have called a cover for Iranian attempts to become capable of making a weapon. Iran has said the program is peaceful.
At the same time Iran was warning its biggest European oil buyers, it also announced it was willing to reopen nuclear talks suspended a year ago in a letter to Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s top foreign policy official. At the same time, the Iranians announced new advances in its nuclear program, including escalation of its enrichment practices, which if accurate could serve to further aggravate tensions.
A spokeswoman for Ms. Ashton confirmed receipt of a letter from Dr. Saeed Jalili, who heads Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, sent in response to a letter from Ms. Ashton in October of last year. The spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, did not disclose the contents but said “we are carefully studying the letter.”
In Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presided over ceremonies to mark advances in Iran’s nuclear program, partly to project an image of Iranian defiance against the Western sanctions. The new advances include centrifuges capable of enriching uranium at a much faster rate and the insertion of the first domestically produced nuclear fuel rod into a nuclear reactor in Tehran, he said.
“The era of bullying nations has past,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said in a televised broadcast of the ceremony. “The arrogant powers cannot monopolize nuclear technology. They tried to prevent us by issuing sanctions and resolutions but failed.”
Iran’s nuclear announcements came as tensions have escalated in particular with Israel, which regards Iran as an existential threat and has hinted at the possibility of a pre-emptive military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities to forestall its suspected ambitions.
Iran has accused Israel, a nuclear weapons state, of responsibility for a clandestine campaign aimed at sabotaging Iran’s nuclear ambitions, including the assassinations of at least four Iranian scientists since 2010. Israel has counter accused Iran in recent days of retaliatory plots aimed at Israeli targets in Georgia, India and Thailand, which Iran has denied.
Rick Gladstone reported from New York, and Alan Cowell from London. Steven Erlanger contributed reporting from Paris, and Artin Afkhami from Boston. .
Besieged by international sanctions over the Iranian nuclear program including a planned oil embargo by Europe, Iran warned its six largest European buyers on Wednesday that it might strike first by immediately cutting them off from Iranian oil.
Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency said the warning was conveyed to the ambassadors of Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Greece and Portugal in separate meetings at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. Officials said an earlier report by Press TV, Iran’s state-financed satellite broadcaster, that Iran had already cut supplies to the six countries was inaccurate — but not before word of the Press TV report sent a brief shudder through the global oil market, sending prices up slightly.
“Iran warns Europe it will find other customers for its oil,” the Islamic Republic News Agency said. “European people should know that if Iran changes destinations of the oil it gives to them, the responsibility will rest with the European governments themselves.”
The European Union decided last month to impose an oil embargo on Iran, one of the world’s leading petroleum exporters, as of July 1 as part of a coordinated campaign of Western sanctions aimed at pressuring Iran to halt its disputed uranium enrichment program, and the Europeans have been making arrangements since then to find other sources of supply.
The combination of sanctions, including severe restraints on Iran’s ability to conduct routine banking and shipping operations, have caused severe disruptions to Iran’s economy as the nuclear program remains an increasingly acrimonious issue between Iran and the West.
The Iranian warning came on a day of mixed messages emanating from Iran’s hierarchy about its nuclear program, which Western nations and Israel have called a cover for Iranian attempts to become capable of making a weapon. Iran has said the program is peaceful.
At the same time Iran was warning its biggest European oil buyers, it also announced it was willing to reopen nuclear talks suspended a year ago in a letter to Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s top foreign policy official. At the same time, the Iranians announced new advances in its nuclear program, including escalation of its enrichment practices, which if accurate could serve to further aggravate tensions.
A spokeswoman for Ms. Ashton confirmed receipt of a letter from Dr. Saeed Jalili, who heads Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, sent in response to a letter from Ms. Ashton in October of last year. The spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, did not disclose the contents but said “we are carefully studying the letter.”
In Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presided over ceremonies to mark advances in Iran’s nuclear program, partly to project an image of Iranian defiance against the Western sanctions. The new advances include centrifuges capable of enriching uranium at a much faster rate and the insertion of the first domestically produced nuclear fuel rod into a nuclear reactor in Tehran, he said.
“The era of bullying nations has past,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said in a televised broadcast of the ceremony. “The arrogant powers cannot monopolize nuclear technology. They tried to prevent us by issuing sanctions and resolutions but failed.”
Iran’s nuclear announcements came as tensions have escalated in particular with Israel, which regards Iran as an existential threat and has hinted at the possibility of a pre-emptive military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities to forestall its suspected ambitions.
Iran has accused Israel, a nuclear weapons state, of responsibility for a clandestine campaign aimed at sabotaging Iran’s nuclear ambitions, including the assassinations of at least four Iranian scientists since 2010. Israel has counter accused Iran in recent days of retaliatory plots aimed at Israeli targets in Georgia, India and Thailand, which Iran has denied.
Rick Gladstone reported from New York, and Alan Cowell from London. Steven Erlanger contributed reporting from Paris, and Artin Afkhami from Boston. .
Source-Freebeacon.com/Obama orders American Surrender to China!
Obama orders Pentagon to Eliminate America's Nuclear Arsenal to levels LOWER THAN CHINA!
President Obama has ordered the Pentagon to consider cutting U.S. strategic nuclear forces to as low as 300 deployed warheads—below the number believed to be in China’s arsenal and far fewer than current Russian strategic warhead stocks.
Pentagon and military planners were asked to develop three force levels for the U.S. arsenal of deployed strategic nuclear warheads: a force of 1,100 to 1,000 warheads; a second scenario of between 700 and 800 warheads; and the lowest level of between 300 and 400 warheads.
A congressional official said no president in the past ever told the Pentagon to conduct a review based on specific numbers of warheads.
“In the past, the way it worked was, ‘tell me what the world is like and then tell me what the force should be,’” the official said. “That is not happening in this review.”
The plan for a radical cut in warheads is contained in a review of nuclear weapons ordered by the president in an August directive. The review called the Nuclear Posture Review Implementation Study is nearing completion and could be presented to the president as early as next month.
The plan has come under fire from senior military officers in charge of maintaining nuclear deterrence against Russia, China, and future nuclear rogue states.
Asked about the opposition, a senior officer involved in strategic arms declined to comment.
Critics of the nuclear force cuts in Congress and the national security community said the force structure is being studied without matching the need for nuclear forces to combat growing threats, as was done in past strategic nuclear reviews.
Currently, the U.S. arsenal includes about 5,000 warheads, many of them slated for dismantlement. Russia has between 4,000 and 6,500 warheads and China is believed to have more than 300.
Pentagon spokesman George Little declined to comment on the specific force levels being examined in the review.
“While the details are classified, the president asked DoD to develop several alternative approaches to deterrence and stability, to include illustrative force size and postures to best support those alternatives,” Little said. “As part of the NPR implementation study, DOD is evaluating these alternatives using policy criteria outlined in the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review.”
John Bolton, former U.N. ambassador and undersecretary of state for international security during the George W. Bush administration, said in an interview that the administration’s plan to cut nuclear force to as low as 300 “alone is sufficient to vote against Obama in November.”
“Congress should urgently adopt a resolution rejecting the idea that any of these levels is consistent with American national security,” Bolton said. “Let’s just see who is prepared to support Obama.”
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney said even considering such deep strategic cuts is irrational.
“No sane military leader would condone 300 to 400 warheads for an effective nuclear deterrent strategy,” McInerney told the Washington Free Beacon.
“Going down to 1000 to 1,100 is risky enough and frankly in today’s world, very risky. The purpose of our nuclear force structure is to deter any adversary from even thinking that they could minimize our attack options. Such thinking is very dangerous and will only encourage our adversaries to make bold decisions.”
A congressional official and former administration official familiar with the ongoing review said the bottom level warhead levels raise serious questions about whether a nuclear force that size would deter adversaries. It also would raise questions about so-called “extended deterrence,” the threat to use nuclear weapons against states like North Korea on behalf of allies like Japan.
The new strategic review reflects the president’s 2009 speech in Prague when he said the United States would pursue peace and security in a world “without nuclear weapons.”
In 2010, the administration issued its Nuclear Posture Review that reduced the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. military posture. Then in March, Thomas Donilon, White House National Security Adviser, said in a speech the administration was making plans for “the next round of nuclear reductions.”
Under the U.S.-Russia New START arms treaty, U.S. nuclear forces will be cut to 1,550 warheads.
Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio and chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, said during a hearing in November that he is concerned about planned cuts in nuclear forces.
“The administration reviews are all being done to support further U.S. reductions,” Turner said, “This is concerning.”
U.S. officials say the failure of the United States to maintain a strong nuclear deterrent force would likely lead to other nations developing nuclear weapons.
Senior members of the Saudi Arabian royal family recently discussed the kingdom’s development of nuclear arms in response to Iran’s covert nuclear program.
And South Korea and Japan could decide to develop nuclear arsenals to deter North Korea’s and China’s nuclear forces.
James Miller, deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told Congress in November that the NPR implementation study, when completed, will result in “more detailed planning guidance to the military, and then [U.S. Strategic Command] will revise its military plans.” The review will also be used for “future arms control proposals,” he said.
Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said during the same hearing with Miller that the 2010 nuclear review “validated the continuing need for a triad” of missiles, bombers, and missile-firing submarines.
“These plans are essential to maintaining long term confidence in our nuclear deterrent capabilities,” Kehler said. “Unfortunately, the nuclear enterprise simultaneously faces significant capitalization challenges and extraordinary fiscal pressures.”
The administration committed to spending as much as $85 billion over 10 years to modernize U.S. nuclear forces and infrastructure as part of the Senate’s New START ratification debate in 2010.
However, some on Capitol Hill are calling the administration’s commitment to nuclear modernization into question.
Kehler’s predecessor at Stratcom, Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, told a recent congressional hearing that the 1,550 warheads under New START are the lowest level for security and deterrence.
When asked if the New START levels included more warheads than needed, Chilton said: “I do not agree that it is more than is needed. I think the arsenal that we have is exactly what is needed today to provide the deterrent.”
Kenneth deGraffenreid, a former Reagan administration National Security Council official, said in an interview that the plans for sharp nuclear cuts are “part of the administration’s purposeful decline of American military power.”
The damage to nuclear forces is compounded by “massive reductions across the board in defense spending on conventional forces,” he said.
“Defense is the only part of government this administration is reducing,” he said. “There wasn’t a single dollar of stimulus money spent on defense.”
Henry Kissinger
“Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy.”
The sentence was reported in "The Final Days", Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
It was said by Kissinger in front of Alexander Haig, newly appointed White House chief of staff, in Haig new office in 1973
I quote to you the sentences related: as you may notice the quote between brackets is "dumb, stupid animals to be used" that was never denied by Kissinger
Quote:
....
In Haig's presence, Kissinger referred pointedly to military men as "dumb, stupid animals to be used" as pawns for foreign policy. Kissinger often took up a post outside the doorway to Haig's office and dressed him down in front of the secretaries for alleged acts of incompetence with which Haig was not even remotely involved. Once when the Air Force was authorized to resume bombing of North Vietnam, the planes did not fly on certain days because of bad weather. Kissinger assailed Haig. He complained bitterly that the generals had been screamin for the limits to be taken off but that now their pilots were afraid to go up in a little fog. The country needed generals who could win battles, Kissinger said, not good briefers like Haig.
.........
[paragraph]
On another occasion, when Haig was leaving for a trip to Cambodia to meet with Premier Lon Nol, Kissinger escorted him to a staff car, where reporters and a retinue of aides waited. As Haig bent to get into the automobile, Kissinger stopped him and began polishing the single star on his shoulder. "Al, if you're a good boy, I'll get you another one," he said.
end of quote
Source(s):
Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
The Final Days
second Touchstone paperback edition (1994)
Chapter 14, pp. 194-195
So, at the same time there are bombings in Thailand, Georgia, and India,you have this exercise going on in Thailand, and just a few weeks ago you had President Obama hosting the Georgian President at the White House, and to top it off, India refuses to join the Zionist Oil Embargo against Iran. And they get bombed.(go figure???)HINT: "They" use terror tactics in countries around the world in order to scare them, and or convince them to join there "Western Coalition".
Obama orders Pentagon to Eliminate America's Nuclear Arsenal to levels LOWER THAN CHINA!
President Obama has ordered the Pentagon to consider cutting U.S. strategic nuclear forces to as low as 300 deployed warheads—below the number believed to be in China’s arsenal and far fewer than current Russian strategic warhead stocks.
Pentagon and military planners were asked to develop three force levels for the U.S. arsenal of deployed strategic nuclear warheads: a force of 1,100 to 1,000 warheads; a second scenario of between 700 and 800 warheads; and the lowest level of between 300 and 400 warheads.
A congressional official said no president in the past ever told the Pentagon to conduct a review based on specific numbers of warheads.
“In the past, the way it worked was, ‘tell me what the world is like and then tell me what the force should be,’” the official said. “That is not happening in this review.”
The plan for a radical cut in warheads is contained in a review of nuclear weapons ordered by the president in an August directive. The review called the Nuclear Posture Review Implementation Study is nearing completion and could be presented to the president as early as next month.
The plan has come under fire from senior military officers in charge of maintaining nuclear deterrence against Russia, China, and future nuclear rogue states.
Asked about the opposition, a senior officer involved in strategic arms declined to comment.
Critics of the nuclear force cuts in Congress and the national security community said the force structure is being studied without matching the need for nuclear forces to combat growing threats, as was done in past strategic nuclear reviews.
Currently, the U.S. arsenal includes about 5,000 warheads, many of them slated for dismantlement. Russia has between 4,000 and 6,500 warheads and China is believed to have more than 300.
Pentagon spokesman George Little declined to comment on the specific force levels being examined in the review.
“While the details are classified, the president asked DoD to develop several alternative approaches to deterrence and stability, to include illustrative force size and postures to best support those alternatives,” Little said. “As part of the NPR implementation study, DOD is evaluating these alternatives using policy criteria outlined in the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review.”
John Bolton, former U.N. ambassador and undersecretary of state for international security during the George W. Bush administration, said in an interview that the administration’s plan to cut nuclear force to as low as 300 “alone is sufficient to vote against Obama in November.”
“Congress should urgently adopt a resolution rejecting the idea that any of these levels is consistent with American national security,” Bolton said. “Let’s just see who is prepared to support Obama.”
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney said even considering such deep strategic cuts is irrational.
“No sane military leader would condone 300 to 400 warheads for an effective nuclear deterrent strategy,” McInerney told the Washington Free Beacon.
“Going down to 1000 to 1,100 is risky enough and frankly in today’s world, very risky. The purpose of our nuclear force structure is to deter any adversary from even thinking that they could minimize our attack options. Such thinking is very dangerous and will only encourage our adversaries to make bold decisions.”
A congressional official and former administration official familiar with the ongoing review said the bottom level warhead levels raise serious questions about whether a nuclear force that size would deter adversaries. It also would raise questions about so-called “extended deterrence,” the threat to use nuclear weapons against states like North Korea on behalf of allies like Japan.
The new strategic review reflects the president’s 2009 speech in Prague when he said the United States would pursue peace and security in a world “without nuclear weapons.”
In 2010, the administration issued its Nuclear Posture Review that reduced the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. military posture. Then in March, Thomas Donilon, White House National Security Adviser, said in a speech the administration was making plans for “the next round of nuclear reductions.”
Under the U.S.-Russia New START arms treaty, U.S. nuclear forces will be cut to 1,550 warheads.
Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio and chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, said during a hearing in November that he is concerned about planned cuts in nuclear forces.
“The administration reviews are all being done to support further U.S. reductions,” Turner said, “This is concerning.”
U.S. officials say the failure of the United States to maintain a strong nuclear deterrent force would likely lead to other nations developing nuclear weapons.
Senior members of the Saudi Arabian royal family recently discussed the kingdom’s development of nuclear arms in response to Iran’s covert nuclear program.
And South Korea and Japan could decide to develop nuclear arsenals to deter North Korea’s and China’s nuclear forces.
James Miller, deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told Congress in November that the NPR implementation study, when completed, will result in “more detailed planning guidance to the military, and then [U.S. Strategic Command] will revise its military plans.” The review will also be used for “future arms control proposals,” he said.
Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said during the same hearing with Miller that the 2010 nuclear review “validated the continuing need for a triad” of missiles, bombers, and missile-firing submarines.
“These plans are essential to maintaining long term confidence in our nuclear deterrent capabilities,” Kehler said. “Unfortunately, the nuclear enterprise simultaneously faces significant capitalization challenges and extraordinary fiscal pressures.”
The administration committed to spending as much as $85 billion over 10 years to modernize U.S. nuclear forces and infrastructure as part of the Senate’s New START ratification debate in 2010.
However, some on Capitol Hill are calling the administration’s commitment to nuclear modernization into question.
Kehler’s predecessor at Stratcom, Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, told a recent congressional hearing that the 1,550 warheads under New START are the lowest level for security and deterrence.
When asked if the New START levels included more warheads than needed, Chilton said: “I do not agree that it is more than is needed. I think the arsenal that we have is exactly what is needed today to provide the deterrent.”
Kenneth deGraffenreid, a former Reagan administration National Security Council official, said in an interview that the plans for sharp nuclear cuts are “part of the administration’s purposeful decline of American military power.”
The damage to nuclear forces is compounded by “massive reductions across the board in defense spending on conventional forces,” he said.
“Defense is the only part of government this administration is reducing,” he said. “There wasn’t a single dollar of stimulus money spent on defense.”
Henry Kissinger
“Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy.”
The sentence was reported in "The Final Days", Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
It was said by Kissinger in front of Alexander Haig, newly appointed White House chief of staff, in Haig new office in 1973
I quote to you the sentences related: as you may notice the quote between brackets is "dumb, stupid animals to be used" that was never denied by Kissinger
Quote:
....
In Haig's presence, Kissinger referred pointedly to military men as "dumb, stupid animals to be used" as pawns for foreign policy. Kissinger often took up a post outside the doorway to Haig's office and dressed him down in front of the secretaries for alleged acts of incompetence with which Haig was not even remotely involved. Once when the Air Force was authorized to resume bombing of North Vietnam, the planes did not fly on certain days because of bad weather. Kissinger assailed Haig. He complained bitterly that the generals had been screamin for the limits to be taken off but that now their pilots were afraid to go up in a little fog. The country needed generals who could win battles, Kissinger said, not good briefers like Haig.
.........
[paragraph]
On another occasion, when Haig was leaving for a trip to Cambodia to meet with Premier Lon Nol, Kissinger escorted him to a staff car, where reporters and a retinue of aides waited. As Haig bent to get into the automobile, Kissinger stopped him and began polishing the single star on his shoulder. "Al, if you're a good boy, I'll get you another one," he said.
end of quote
Source(s):
Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
The Final Days
second Touchstone paperback edition (1994)
Chapter 14, pp. 194-195
So, at the same time there are bombings in Thailand, Georgia, and India,you have this exercise going on in Thailand, and just a few weeks ago you had President Obama hosting the Georgian President at the White House, and to top it off, India refuses to join the Zionist Oil Embargo against Iran. And they get bombed.(go figure???)HINT: "They" use terror tactics in countries around the world in order to scare them, and or convince them to join there "Western Coalition".
Source-U.S. Marines.mil/Cobra Gold
Source-TimeMagazine battleland blog.com/photos of Cobra Gold 2012
Source-dvidshub.net/cobra-gold-2012-has-officially-begun
CAMP SURANAREE, Thailand -“Now the auspicious moment has arrived… I would like to declare the combined joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2012 open.” These words were spoken by Gen. Sakol Sajjanit, Deputy Chief of Royal Thai Defense Forces, who took part in the opening ceremony which officially began Exercise Cobra Gold 2012.
The exercise is an annual multinational combined joint training exercise held throughout the Kingdom of Thailand. It is the United States' largest multilateral exercise in the Asia Pacific region and offers more than 20 participating countries critical training opportunities to improve interoperability in conducting multinational operations.
“I would like to thank the United States Government and the United States Armed Forces, especially the United States Pacific Command for co-hosting this year’s exercise, as well as all personnel, organizations, and participating countries for their sacrifice and devotion in making this exercise possible,” said Sajjanit.
In its 31st iteration, Exercise Cobra Gold demonstrates multinational commitment to allied forces in the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on regional partnership, prosperity and security commitments in the region.
Events during the exercise include a computer-simulated command-post exercise, field training operations, and humanitarian and civic assistance projects that increase the standard of living for the Thai people in surrounding communities.
“Cobra Gold is much more than just an exercise,” said Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., Commanding General III Marine Expeditionary Force. “We have a challenging two weeks in front of us that will build relationships between partnering nations and improve the interoperability for forces across the range of military operations.”
Participating nations in CG 12 include the U.S., Kingdom of Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the Republic of Korea.
“We are very proud of our alliance with Thailand, and our alliances and partnerships throughout Asia,” said Judith Beth Cefkin, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand. “These relationships based on friendship, common goals and mutual respect makes Cobra Gold the vital and vibrant exercise it is today.”
Glueck’s closing remarks challenged exercise participants to avoid complacency and to maximize their efforts this Cobra Gold to accomplish the goals set forth.
Exercise Cobra Gold 2012 is taking place throughout the Kingdom of Thailand with event concluding on Feb 17.
One of many thousands of young Marines soon to die in Zionist war against China.
CAMP SURANAREE, Thailand -“Now the auspicious moment has arrived… I would like to declare the combined joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2012 open.” These words were spoken by Gen. Sakol Sajjanit, Deputy Chief of Royal Thai Defense Forces, who took part in the opening ceremony which officially began Exercise Cobra Gold 2012.
The exercise is an annual multinational combined joint training exercise held throughout the Kingdom of Thailand. It is the United States' largest multilateral exercise in the Asia Pacific region and offers more than 20 participating countries critical training opportunities to improve interoperability in conducting multinational operations.
“I would like to thank the United States Government and the United States Armed Forces, especially the United States Pacific Command for co-hosting this year’s exercise, as well as all personnel, organizations, and participating countries for their sacrifice and devotion in making this exercise possible,” said Sajjanit.
In its 31st iteration, Exercise Cobra Gold demonstrates multinational commitment to allied forces in the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on regional partnership, prosperity and security commitments in the region.
Events during the exercise include a computer-simulated command-post exercise, field training operations, and humanitarian and civic assistance projects that increase the standard of living for the Thai people in surrounding communities.
“Cobra Gold is much more than just an exercise,” said Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., Commanding General III Marine Expeditionary Force. “We have a challenging two weeks in front of us that will build relationships between partnering nations and improve the interoperability for forces across the range of military operations.”
Participating nations in CG 12 include the U.S., Kingdom of Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the Republic of Korea.
“We are very proud of our alliance with Thailand, and our alliances and partnerships throughout Asia,” said Judith Beth Cefkin, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand. “These relationships based on friendship, common goals and mutual respect makes Cobra Gold the vital and vibrant exercise it is today.”
Glueck’s closing remarks challenged exercise participants to avoid complacency and to maximize their efforts this Cobra Gold to accomplish the goals set forth.
Exercise Cobra Gold 2012 is taking place throughout the Kingdom of Thailand with event concluding on Feb 17.
One of many thousands of young Marines soon to die in Zionist war against China.
Source-International Business Times.com
Operation Cobra Gold 2012: U.S Marines Drink Cobra Blood and Eat Deadly Insects at Training Camp in Thailand [PHOTOS]
A series of gruesome photos showed U.S. Marines drinking cobra blood, eating insects and even beheading live chickens as part of a bizarre jungle survival course in Thailand, Daily Mail reported.
The tough Marines were shown by Thai Navy instructors several survival crafts including techniques of hunting down snakes before being given a chance to eat its entrails. Some photos showed several soldiers devouring scorpions and other deadly insects among other feats of the military program.
The 10-day drill held in the Sattahip district of province Chonburi, is an annual training program known as Exercise Cobra Gold. The event co-sponsored by the U.S. and Thailand brings over 13,000 personnel from the U.S., Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. The point of this program, the publication noted, is to build stronger ties between the U.S. and Asia.
The hard-core military drill goes beyond training soldiers Fear Factor style. Other operations include computer-simulated command-post exercise, field training drills, humanitarian projects, evacuation exercises, including a mock amphibious raid.
According to First Lt. Zachary Duncan, the training program will open eyes "to see the jungle environment as plentiful as it is."
"The Thais are showing us a lot of tools as well as resources available to us in the jungle that we will be able to exploit to survive in that environment," Duncan said to Dvidshub.net, a military Web site.
According to Army.nil, the exercise program will end on Feb. 17.
Chonburi Province-Southern Thailand
Operation Cobra Gold 2012: U.S Marines Drink Cobra Blood and Eat Deadly Insects at Training Camp in Thailand [PHOTOS]
A series of gruesome photos showed U.S. Marines drinking cobra blood, eating insects and even beheading live chickens as part of a bizarre jungle survival course in Thailand, Daily Mail reported.
The tough Marines were shown by Thai Navy instructors several survival crafts including techniques of hunting down snakes before being given a chance to eat its entrails. Some photos showed several soldiers devouring scorpions and other deadly insects among other feats of the military program.
The 10-day drill held in the Sattahip district of province Chonburi, is an annual training program known as Exercise Cobra Gold. The event co-sponsored by the U.S. and Thailand brings over 13,000 personnel from the U.S., Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. The point of this program, the publication noted, is to build stronger ties between the U.S. and Asia.
The hard-core military drill goes beyond training soldiers Fear Factor style. Other operations include computer-simulated command-post exercise, field training drills, humanitarian projects, evacuation exercises, including a mock amphibious raid.
According to First Lt. Zachary Duncan, the training program will open eyes "to see the jungle environment as plentiful as it is."
"The Thais are showing us a lot of tools as well as resources available to us in the jungle that we will be able to exploit to survive in that environment," Duncan said to Dvidshub.net, a military Web site.
According to Army.nil, the exercise program will end on Feb. 17.
Chonburi Province-Southern Thailand
Source-Voltairenet.org/US-war-games-in-South-East-Asia
Cobra Gold 2012 " is on track. More than 13 000 soldiers, including troops from the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan are currently participating in war games in Thailand.
The 10-day exercise takes place every year, but since it was started in 1982, this is the most important. Indeed, South Korea joined the endeavor by contributing, in particular, its amphibious landing vehicles.
The troops followed a series of training drills simulating "humanitarian projects" and civil assistance scenarios.
This edition of Cobra Gold is the first since Washington announced last year a re-engagement strategy in Southeast Asia.
The U.S. has also announced it would maintain its military bases in Japan and South Korea while increasing its presence in Australia, Singapore and the Philippines.
After its costly wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, it appear that the U.S. is looking increasingly to Asia Southeast for new allies.
The Criminal Western Intelligence Agencies are trying to "drive a wedge" between India and Iran, also Pakistan and China. In a WW3 Scenario the West will use India as a buffer(cannon fodder) against China.{"They" don't want India to have friendly relations with those countries.}
Cobra Gold 2012 " is on track. More than 13 000 soldiers, including troops from the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan are currently participating in war games in Thailand.
The 10-day exercise takes place every year, but since it was started in 1982, this is the most important. Indeed, South Korea joined the endeavor by contributing, in particular, its amphibious landing vehicles.
The troops followed a series of training drills simulating "humanitarian projects" and civil assistance scenarios.
This edition of Cobra Gold is the first since Washington announced last year a re-engagement strategy in Southeast Asia.
The U.S. has also announced it would maintain its military bases in Japan and South Korea while increasing its presence in Australia, Singapore and the Philippines.
After its costly wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, it appear that the U.S. is looking increasingly to Asia Southeast for new allies.
The Criminal Western Intelligence Agencies are trying to "drive a wedge" between India and Iran, also Pakistan and China. In a WW3 Scenario the West will use India as a buffer(cannon fodder) against China.{"They" don't want India to have friendly relations with those countries.}
Source-Time.com/photos of Israeli Embassy bombings
Do you see the Coincidences? Connect the Dots....
U.S. PREPARES GEORGIA FOR WARS IN CAUCUSUS AND IRAN.
By Rick Rozoff
Do you see the Coincidences? Connect the Dots....
U.S. PREPARES GEORGIA FOR WARS IN CAUCUSUS AND IRAN.
By Rick Rozoff
On January 30 President Barack Obama met with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili in the Oval Office at the White House for an unprecedented private meeting between the heads of state, a tête-à-tête initiated by Washington.
Details of the discussions were not divulged, though Obama is reported to have confirmed American support for Georgia’s full integration into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and expressed appreciation for Saakashvili almost doubling his nation’s troop strength in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to approximately 1,700 soldiers, making the Georgian contingent the largest of any non-NATO member even as other troop contributing nations are planning to withdraw troops from the over ten-year war in South Asia.
Speculation emerged before the meeting that Obama had summoned the ambitious and erratic Georgian leader to Washington to propose a quid pro quo: The use of Georgian territory for American attacks on Iran in exchange for the U.S. exercising its not inconsiderable influence in Georgia – with a population of only 4.7 million the third largest recipient of American foreign aid – to assist in securing Saakashvili’s reelection in next year’s presidential poll.
Former president Eduard Shevardnadze, who was overthrown by Saakashvili’s self-styled Rose Revolution in 2003 (after which the usurper won over 97 percent of the vote in a dubious special presidential election in January 2004, the near-unanimous result not bothering the U.S. and other NATO nations in the least), was quoted a week before the Obama-Saakashvili meeting as warning, “I don’t rule out that to retain the [presidential] chair Saakashvili may join a military campaign against Iran, which would become a catastrophe for our country.”
Georgian analysts and opposition party leaders seconded Shevardnadze’s suspicions, specifying that the Saakashvili regime would provide air bases and hospitals, of which a veritable proliferation have appeared in recent months, for such a war effort. A Georgian opposition analyst estimated that 30 new 20-bed hospitals and medical clinics were opened last December and that new air and naval sites are being built and modernized, military air fields in Vaziani, Marneuli and Batumi most ominously.
The U.S. launched a train and equip program for the Georgian armed forces over a decade ago, initially staffed by Green Berets but shortly thereafter and to this day by the U.S. Marine Corps, which has refashioned the nation’s military into an expeditionary force for American and NATO wars around the world and in the process (and by design) a combat-trained and -ready force prepared for invading and subjugating neighboring Abkhazia and South Ossetia (which had been part of former Soviet Georgia but never of the Republic of Georgia) and for the inevitable war with Russia which would result from the attempt. The constantly-upgraded Krtsanisi National Training Center and the Vaziani Military Base outside Georgia’s capital are staffed by U.S. and NATO as well as national military personnel.
During the five-day war between Georgia and Russia in August of 2008 which ensued after Tbilisi invaded South Ossetia days after U.S. airborne and Marine forces led a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise, Immediate Response 2008, in Georgia, American military transport planes returned the 2,000 Georgian troops stationed in Iraq – at the time the third largest foreign military contingent in the country, only exceeded by those of the U.S. and Britain – for the war with Russia.
Had the Georgian assault against South Ossetia, timed to coincide with the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing while the world’ attention was focused there, succeeded in driving to the Roki tunnel which connects South Ossetia with Russia and thereby blocking reinforcements to repel the Georgian attack, the next target was to be Abkhazia, where Saakashvili had massed 8,000 troops near the Kodori Gorge on the Abkhaz side of the border.
Novosti quoted former Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov two weeks after the war ended claiming: “In the operation the West conducted on Georgian soil against Russia – South Ossetians were the victims or hostages of it – we can see a rehearsal for an attack on Iran. There are a great deal of ‘new features’ that today are being fine tuned in the theater of military operations.”
A month after the Georgian-Russian war ended then-Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin held a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels and, as quoted by Novosti, maintained that:
“Russian intelligence had obtained information indicating that the Georgian military infrastructure could be used for logistical support of U.S. troops if they launched an attack on Iran.
“‘This is another reason why Washington values Saakashvili’s regime so highly,’ Rogozin said, adding that the United States had already started ‘active military preparations on Georgia’s territory’ for an invasion of Iran.
“‘Georgia’s president is ready to make his nation a virtual hostage of a risky military gamble,’ he said.”
A United Press International dispatch at the time revealed that “a secret agreement between Georgia and Israel had earmarked two military airfields in the south of Georgia for use by Israeli fighter-bombers in a potential pre-emptive strike against Iran.”
According to journalist Atul Aneja in The Hindu in October of 2008:
“Russia’s military assertion in Georgia and a show of strength in parts of West Asia [the Middle East]…appear to have forestalled the chances of an immediate strike against Iran.
“Following Russia’s movement into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev acknowledged that Moscow was aware that serious plans to attack Iran had been laid out. ‘We know that certain players are planning an attack against Iran. But we oppose any unilateral step and [a] military solution to the nuclear crisis,’ he said at the Valdai Discussion Club, an annual forum of opinion-makers in Moscow.
“Russia’s confrontation with Georgia appeared to be partly responsible for Moscow’s perception that an attack on Iran was in the works.
“It is now acknowledged that Russia seized control of two airfields in Georgia from where air strikes against Iran were being planned.
“The Russian forces also apparently recovered weapons and Israeli spy drones that would have been useful for the surveillance of possible Iranian targets.”
As the U.S. and its NATO allies escalate their military presence in the Persian Gulf – the U.S. has two carrier strike groups in the area and a third on its way – Washington is consolidating military ties with Georgia to a new level.
The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 passed in December calls for supplying new “defensive” arms to Georgia, with emphasis on air defense and anti-tank weapons. And perhaps more. Much more.
Last month Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that his country will target missiles stationed in Georgia as part of the U.S.-NATO interceptor missile system.
The Georgian government approved its latest Annual National Program with NATO slightly over a week ago. The Annual National program was launched by the Western military alliance shortly after the 2008 war.
At the same time General John R. Allen, commander of all NATO and American troops in Afghanistan, visited Georgia to meet with senior military and government officials.
After his meeting with Obama in the White House, Saakashvili visited with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, leading members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (which, along with the U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, functions as the main pro-Saakashvili Georgian lobbying group in the government), Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at the Pentagon, from which he was flown on a V-22 Osprey military aircraft to the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, where he was greeted with a 21-gun salute.
This week Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia announced the imminent arrival of a delegation of American military experts, asserting U.S.-Georgia military relations were entering “an entirely new phase.” One that, as he elaborated, now extends beyond the U.S. Marine Corps training Georgian troops for Iraq and Afghanistan and to future prospective joint operations against nations like Iran.
Rick Rozoff
Details of the discussions were not divulged, though Obama is reported to have confirmed American support for Georgia’s full integration into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and expressed appreciation for Saakashvili almost doubling his nation’s troop strength in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to approximately 1,700 soldiers, making the Georgian contingent the largest of any non-NATO member even as other troop contributing nations are planning to withdraw troops from the over ten-year war in South Asia.
Speculation emerged before the meeting that Obama had summoned the ambitious and erratic Georgian leader to Washington to propose a quid pro quo: The use of Georgian territory for American attacks on Iran in exchange for the U.S. exercising its not inconsiderable influence in Georgia – with a population of only 4.7 million the third largest recipient of American foreign aid – to assist in securing Saakashvili’s reelection in next year’s presidential poll.
Former president Eduard Shevardnadze, who was overthrown by Saakashvili’s self-styled Rose Revolution in 2003 (after which the usurper won over 97 percent of the vote in a dubious special presidential election in January 2004, the near-unanimous result not bothering the U.S. and other NATO nations in the least), was quoted a week before the Obama-Saakashvili meeting as warning, “I don’t rule out that to retain the [presidential] chair Saakashvili may join a military campaign against Iran, which would become a catastrophe for our country.”
Georgian analysts and opposition party leaders seconded Shevardnadze’s suspicions, specifying that the Saakashvili regime would provide air bases and hospitals, of which a veritable proliferation have appeared in recent months, for such a war effort. A Georgian opposition analyst estimated that 30 new 20-bed hospitals and medical clinics were opened last December and that new air and naval sites are being built and modernized, military air fields in Vaziani, Marneuli and Batumi most ominously.
The U.S. launched a train and equip program for the Georgian armed forces over a decade ago, initially staffed by Green Berets but shortly thereafter and to this day by the U.S. Marine Corps, which has refashioned the nation’s military into an expeditionary force for American and NATO wars around the world and in the process (and by design) a combat-trained and -ready force prepared for invading and subjugating neighboring Abkhazia and South Ossetia (which had been part of former Soviet Georgia but never of the Republic of Georgia) and for the inevitable war with Russia which would result from the attempt. The constantly-upgraded Krtsanisi National Training Center and the Vaziani Military Base outside Georgia’s capital are staffed by U.S. and NATO as well as national military personnel.
During the five-day war between Georgia and Russia in August of 2008 which ensued after Tbilisi invaded South Ossetia days after U.S. airborne and Marine forces led a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise, Immediate Response 2008, in Georgia, American military transport planes returned the 2,000 Georgian troops stationed in Iraq – at the time the third largest foreign military contingent in the country, only exceeded by those of the U.S. and Britain – for the war with Russia.
Had the Georgian assault against South Ossetia, timed to coincide with the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing while the world’ attention was focused there, succeeded in driving to the Roki tunnel which connects South Ossetia with Russia and thereby blocking reinforcements to repel the Georgian attack, the next target was to be Abkhazia, where Saakashvili had massed 8,000 troops near the Kodori Gorge on the Abkhaz side of the border.
Novosti quoted former Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov two weeks after the war ended claiming: “In the operation the West conducted on Georgian soil against Russia – South Ossetians were the victims or hostages of it – we can see a rehearsal for an attack on Iran. There are a great deal of ‘new features’ that today are being fine tuned in the theater of military operations.”
A month after the Georgian-Russian war ended then-Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin held a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels and, as quoted by Novosti, maintained that:
“Russian intelligence had obtained information indicating that the Georgian military infrastructure could be used for logistical support of U.S. troops if they launched an attack on Iran.
“‘This is another reason why Washington values Saakashvili’s regime so highly,’ Rogozin said, adding that the United States had already started ‘active military preparations on Georgia’s territory’ for an invasion of Iran.
“‘Georgia’s president is ready to make his nation a virtual hostage of a risky military gamble,’ he said.”
A United Press International dispatch at the time revealed that “a secret agreement between Georgia and Israel had earmarked two military airfields in the south of Georgia for use by Israeli fighter-bombers in a potential pre-emptive strike against Iran.”
According to journalist Atul Aneja in The Hindu in October of 2008:
“Russia’s military assertion in Georgia and a show of strength in parts of West Asia [the Middle East]…appear to have forestalled the chances of an immediate strike against Iran.
“Following Russia’s movement into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev acknowledged that Moscow was aware that serious plans to attack Iran had been laid out. ‘We know that certain players are planning an attack against Iran. But we oppose any unilateral step and [a] military solution to the nuclear crisis,’ he said at the Valdai Discussion Club, an annual forum of opinion-makers in Moscow.
“Russia’s confrontation with Georgia appeared to be partly responsible for Moscow’s perception that an attack on Iran was in the works.
“It is now acknowledged that Russia seized control of two airfields in Georgia from where air strikes against Iran were being planned.
“The Russian forces also apparently recovered weapons and Israeli spy drones that would have been useful for the surveillance of possible Iranian targets.”
As the U.S. and its NATO allies escalate their military presence in the Persian Gulf – the U.S. has two carrier strike groups in the area and a third on its way – Washington is consolidating military ties with Georgia to a new level.
The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 passed in December calls for supplying new “defensive” arms to Georgia, with emphasis on air defense and anti-tank weapons. And perhaps more. Much more.
Last month Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that his country will target missiles stationed in Georgia as part of the U.S.-NATO interceptor missile system.
The Georgian government approved its latest Annual National Program with NATO slightly over a week ago. The Annual National program was launched by the Western military alliance shortly after the 2008 war.
At the same time General John R. Allen, commander of all NATO and American troops in Afghanistan, visited Georgia to meet with senior military and government officials.
After his meeting with Obama in the White House, Saakashvili visited with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, leading members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (which, along with the U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, functions as the main pro-Saakashvili Georgian lobbying group in the government), Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at the Pentagon, from which he was flown on a V-22 Osprey military aircraft to the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, where he was greeted with a 21-gun salute.
This week Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia announced the imminent arrival of a delegation of American military experts, asserting U.S.-Georgia military relations were entering “an entirely new phase.” One that, as he elaborated, now extends beyond the U.S. Marine Corps training Georgian troops for Iraq and Afghanistan and to future prospective joint operations against nations like Iran.
Rick Rozoff
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