Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Sunday 30 December 2012


6 New Messages

Digest #4589

Messages

Fri Dec 28, 2012 1:47 pm (PST) . Posted by:

"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-12/28/c_132069891.htm

Xinhua News Agency
December 28, 2012

4 killed in U.S. drone strike in NW Pakistan

        
ISLAMABAD: At least five people were killed and several others injured in a U.S. drone strike launched in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Friday evening, reported local media ARY.

According to the local media reports, U.S. unmanned aircraft fired two missiles at a house suspected of being a militant hideout in Shawal area of North Waziristan, a militancy-plagued region along the Pak-Afghan border.

Details about the strike are not immediately available.

Firday's U.S. drone strike is the 39th of its kind in Pakistan in 2012. Since the beginning of this year, at least 274 people have been killed in such strikes.

Though most of the killed are believed to be suspected militants, the U.S. drones do sometimes kill innocent people, which has led to strong opposition from the Pakistani side.
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Fri Dec 28, 2012 1:47 pm (PST) . Posted by:

"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff

http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/2103785.html

Trend News Agency
December 28, 2012

FM: New Georgian government to continue active cooperation with U.S within Charter on Strategic Partnership
N. Kirtzkhali

Tbilisi: The new Georgian government will continue active cooperation with the U.S in the future within the Charter on Strategic Partnership, signed in Washington in January 2009, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze told media today.

"From the point of view of intensifying the relations with the U.S, it should be stressed that Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is expected to visit the U.S, presumably, in the spring of 2013," minister said.

The minister said that the working groups established within the Charter on Strategic Partnership will be held in 2013. The annual meeting on the Charter will be also held.

The Charter on Strategic Partnership between Georgia and the U.S was signed in Washington on January 9, 2009. Four working groups on security, development of democracy, economy and trade, and public relations were established within the Charter.
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Fri Dec 28, 2012 1:56 pm (PST) . Posted by:

"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/612697.html

Itar-Tass
December 28, 2012

Dniester Republic wants Russian peacekeepers to stay

TIRASPOL: The Dniester Republic wants Russian peacekeepers to stay until a
political settlement is finally reached, Yevgeny Shevchuk, the president of the unrecognized Dniester Republic, told journalists on Friday, commenting on the proposal of the Moldovan leadership to replace "Russian Blue Helmets" by civilian observers.

"It's time to stop creating preconditions for a war. Regrettably, we can see
that representatives of Moldova's political elite couldn't refrain from
aggressive remarks about the Dniester Republic in the outgoing year. These
remarks are a source of concern for our people, in the first place," Shevchuk went on to say.

He gave some figures, according to which about 40 incidents had occurred in the buffer zone on the Dniester River this year. They were settled by the Joint Control Commission that supervises the peacekeeping operation and commands the peacekeeping battalions of Russia, Moldova and the Dniester Republic.

"This is another evidence that the peacekeeping operation is a serious guarantee that the tragic events of 1992 when thousands of people were killed, wounded or became refugees will never be repeated," Shevchuk emphasized.

He recalled that the Russian peacekeepers were staying in the Dniester region under an agreement that was signed in Moscow in 1992 and allowed for solving the conflict peacefully.

"First, under this document the Russian Group of Troops carries out a
peacekeeping operation. Second, the Russian Group of Troops continues guarding munitions in the Kolbasnoye village of the Rybnitsky district, which is the property of the Russian army," Shevchuk said, adding that the population of the Dniester Republic would like to expand the Russian military presence in the region in the foreseeable future.

This year, the Dniester Republic has marked the 20th anniversary of the
peacekeeping operation in the Dniester Valley. The Joint Peacekeeping Forces of Russia, Moldova and the Dniester Republic as well as Ukrainian observers have been guarding the security zone on the banks of the Dniester River since the end of an armed conflict between Moldova and the Dniester Republic under an agreement on the principles of the conflict's peaceful settlement singed on July 21, 1992. Moldova considers the conflict to be over and believes that the existing peacekeeping format should be changed by replacing the peacekeepers by civilian observers under the OSCE mandate.
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Fri Dec 28, 2012 2:02 pm (PST) . Posted by:

"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=386531

Interfax
December 28, 2012

Abkhaz diplomats act in secrecy because of Georgia's, U.S.', EU's intrigues - foreign minister

SUKHUMI: The Abkhaz Foreign Ministry has to conceal a lot from journalists so that Georgia as well as the U.S. and the European Union as its sponsors could not take advantage of this information, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Chirikba said.

"We cannot say about everything that occurs in our ministry and outside it. I cannot tell you about all trips that I have made this year and about all contacts that we are establishing with political figures of various countries, because our confrontation with Georgia, the U.S. and the European Union is very bitter," Chirikba said.

"They are faultlessly tracking our telephone conversations, text messages, and emails, and they do everything to break our contacts with possible diplomatic partners. Therefore, we have to work in secrecy, however intriguing this might sound," he said.

"I was in Italy recently, where I was supposed to read a lecture at a university. Georgia learned about this somehow and did all it could to thwart this lecture. But these petty steps don't do it any good. I still gave a large press conference, at which I said all I wanted to say," Chirikba said.

Even though Abkhazia's contacts with foreign countries are being hampered, its diplomats are working on all continents, i.e. Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, he said.

The minister said he was sure that the number of countries recognizing Abkhazia's independence will be growing.

Stronger strategic partnership with Russia and broad international recognition are strategic objectives of Abkhazia's foreign policy, he said.
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Fri Dec 28, 2012 6:07 pm (PST) . Posted by:

"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90883/8073368.html

People's Daily
December 28, 2012

China must and is able to withstand pressure
By Ren Weidong

====

[S]ince the end of the Cold War, the U.S. global strategy has gone through two major historical stages. In the first 10 years (in the 1990s), the strategic focus was on Eastern Europe. The main strategy was presented by the NATO’s eastward expansion and the European Union’s eastward expansion. In the first 10 years of the new century (2000-2010), the strategic focus is to expand in the Middle East and Central Asia, with launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as its main strategy.

====

Since the United States adjusted its global strategy to return to the Asia-Pacific region, China-U.S. strategic relations and China's security environment has undergone significant historical changes.

From a geopolitical perspective, since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. global strategy has gone through two major historical stages. In the first 10 years (in the 1990s), the strategic focus was on Eastern Europe. The main strategy was presented by the NATO’s eastward expansion and the European Union’s eastward expansion. In the first 10 years of the new century (2000-2010), the strategic focus is to expand in the Middle East and Central Asia, with launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as its main strategy.

Around the second 10 years in the new century, the United States has ceased its strategic task in Central Asia and the Middle East for a while. Despite the fact that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not going very smoothly, the United States succeeded in overthrowing the anti-American regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq and established pro-American regimes. Therefore, the strategic focus of the United States shifting from Central Asia and the Middle East to East Asia entirely followed its strategic steps as planned.

Since the adjustment of the U.S. strategic focus, a series of its strategic initiatives in East Asia can be summarized as follows: Politically establishing a united front line around China; making military deployments targeted at China; and undermining the economic influence of China.

Out of hegemonic geopolitical need, the United States will not allow the emergence of a unified geopolitical situation that is out of its control on the other side of the Pacific.

In addition, the most developed and prosperous cities are gathered on the coastal region of southeast China, therefore the region is vital for the Chinese economy. As the main transportation mode for China's foreign trade and energy supply is via the sea route, taking control of the transportation line from the West Pacific Ocean to India via the Strait of Malacca means seizing the lifeline of the Chinese economy. Therefore, it is necessary for the United States to put its strategic focus on Asia, especially East Asia, which is fatal for China.

The strategic focus shifting to the Asia-Pacific region means that the United States has targeted China as the main objective of its global strategy in the current situation, pushing China to the position where it has nowhere to retreat or hide, but only accept the truth.

From the historical experience of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, there must be murder accompanied behind the containment. In Africa, the United States excludes China's economic interests and political influence; in the Middle East, it controls China’s energy throat; and in the neighboring countries of China, it seeks and supports a force to contain China. It even directly ruins the key to the security and the development of China in East Asia. Together with internal penetration, evolution and division of China, what the U.S. did is not simply containment with a purpose of stopping expansion, but a curb with the purpose of manipulation or even choking.

There are only two ways for China to choose: Either withstanding the external pressure, taking an independent place in the multi-centered world pattern in the future; or following in the steps of the Soviet Union, and experiencing survival ravages. The sharpness of the struggle is self-evident, but with 5,000 years’ cultural heritage and 63 years’ revolution achievements, China will be able to overcome the challenges.
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Fri Dec 28, 2012 7:46 pm (PST) . Posted by:

"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_29/Relatives-of-2009-NATO-air-strike-victims-in-Afghanistan-sue-Germany/

Voice of Russia
December 29, 2012

Relatives of 2009 NATO air strike victims in Afghanistan sue Germany

Families of those killed in a NATO air strike in 2009 that targeted the Afghan province of Kunduz have filed a lawsuit against the German government. 79 people have taken legal action at a court in Bonn, demanding from the German authorities $ 4.3 million in compensation.
In September 2009, the command of the German contingent of the NATO forces in Afghanistan initiated an airstrike on two oil tankers in Kunduz province, which had been seized by Taliban militants. According to the command, this posed a potential threat to the safety of the German soldiers.

According to the German authorities, 91 people fell victim to the strike, while the plaintiffs' lawyers claim 142 victims.

Voice of Russia, Interfax