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The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has overwhelmingly approved the Syrian Transition Support Act that calls on the U.S. to provide arms to «moderate» Syrian opposition groups, underscoring growing sentiment among lawmakers for a change in the U.S. stand on the conflict. The 15-3 vote showed broad support from both parties... The Senate panel’s vote will hinder diplomacy efforts at the time the world is pinning hopes on Moscow-initiated Geneva conference...
Andrei AKULOV | 24.05.2013 |
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Russia has voiced concern over the security threats increasing following the planned withdrawal of most US-led foreign combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. On May 8 the President of Russia said at the Security Council meeting that U.S. and NATO-led forces «have not yet achieved a breakthrough in the fight against terrorist and radical groups» and that these groups have become more active recently... The President further pointed out that «international forces have done practically nothing to root out drug production in Afghanistan» and ignored Russian proposals for more efforts to eradicate crops of poppies used to make heroin. As a result «there is every reason to believe that in the near future we may face a worsening of the situation»...
Andrei AKULOV | 20.05.2013 |
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According to Associated Press reports, Marines and other U.S. forces in Europe are on a heightened state of alert in response to a deteriorating security situation in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, U.S. officials said on May 10. The combat readiness condition encompasses a U.S. special operations team based in Stuttgart, Germany and a Marine group of air and ground forces based in Moron, Spain, according to the officials, who, as the agency reports, were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity…
Andrei AKULOV | 17.05.2013 |
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On May 1, 2013 an experimental unmanned aircraft developed for the US Air Force has flown at more than five times the speed of sound in a test off California. The test marked the fourth and final flight of an X-51A by the Air Force. This is a breakthrough in scramjet technology that allegedly can be used to deliver strikes around the globe within minutes... The X-51A aircraft is known as the Wave Rider because it stays airborne, in part, with lift generated by the shock waves of its own flight... The Wave Rider is designed to reach speeds of Mach 6 or above, six times the speed of sound and fast enough to cross the Atlantic Ocean and strike a target in Europe in less than an hour. Many details of the program are classified...
Andrei AKULOV | 14.05.2013 |
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On May 5 Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital allegedly targeting a shipment of high precision Iranian-made Fateh-110 missiles to be transported to Lebanon's Hezbollah group. The military research center in Jamraya was hit… On May 3 Israeli aircraft hit a shipment of missiles near the Lebanon’s border. Two air strikes in two days signal a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's civil war… Sometime before - on March 19 - Adm. James Stavridis, the commander of U.S. European Command, said that NATO was conducting contingency planning for possible military involvement in Syria…
Andrei AKULOV | 07.05.2013 |
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US State Secretary John Kerry comes to Moscow on May 7. Tom Donilon, US National Security Adviser, went to Moscow last month to deliver a President Obama’s message to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, which included proposals to cut the two countries' nuclear arsenals and finding a compromise in the running dispute over US plans for a missile defense system in Europe... It’s important to take into consideration an obvious fact – Russian tactical nukes are not capable to strike the continental US, while the American warheads are actually an addition to the strategic potential with the range allowing to deliver strikes against Russian infrastructure in Europe...
Andrei AKULOV | 06.05.2013 |
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...The US is obviously on the way to significantly boost the military capabilities of the Middle East allies. The new policy under the conditions of economic hardships is to compensate the reduction of the military presence by increasing the allies’ capabilities. It’s enough to have a cursory look at the military aid package offered by Mr. Hagel to understand the US is arming these states before attacking Iran and Syria. With US presence dwindled the regional arms race is spurred, the security risks are up and the goal of global domination is very much alive in US foreign policy thinking...
Andrei AKULOV | 05.05.2013 |
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On April 19 the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee reported that the Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev subscribed to Kavkaz Center terrorist site. The publication offers robust evidence to prove the fact. It points out that it is however «impossible to guess if the brothers received instructions from Doku Umarov's Emerat Kavkaz directly or were merely «lone wolf» attackers inspired by terrorists propaganda»... In 2011 the UN Security Council listed Doku Umarov as a terrorist. The organization he heads, the Emarat Kavkaz, was listed as a terrorist organization, associated with Al-Qaeda. The Kavkaz Center is its mouthpiece, described by Umarov himself as «the official information organ of the Emarat Kavkaz». In Finland the «Center» enjoys quite a comfortable standing being located in downtown Helsinki...
Andrei AKULOV | 29.04.2013 |
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After a long period, Moscow has returned to the Mediterranean as a sea power. In 2011 it conducted a naval exercise exceeding in scope any training activity since the days of the Soviet Union. The last large-scale drill took place in January 2013 and involved over 20 combat surface ships and submarines from three operational fleets... On February 26 a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom signed a 20-year deal with Levant LNG Marketing Corp. to exclusively purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Israel’s Tamar offshore gas field in the Mediterranean. Gazprom wants to build up its LNG trading business to diversify away from traditional European customers receiving natural gas via pipelines...
Andrei AKULOV | 21.04.2013 |
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...The recent discoveries of enormous oil and gas reserves in the little-explored Mediterranean Sea between Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Syria and Lebanon suggest that the region could become literally a «new Persian Gulf». But there is a reverse side of the medal. New battles over rights to resources in the Levant Basin and Aegean Sea could spark tensions and military conflicts. Turkey insists the gas must be shared, it has sent ships to back its stance. Syria and Lebanon have their own claims. Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria are also advancing claims to the "Aphrodite" gas field off Cyprus...
Andrei AKULOV | 20.04.2013 |
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