Daily Archives: October 16, 2014

90 dnevni izziv #30 Najprej poskrbite zase, ele nato za druge
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By: Matja Slanc

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90 dnevni izziv #30 Najprej poskrbite zase, ele nato za druge - Video

NATO Gunship helicopters violated Pakistani Airspace for ten minutes at Torkham Border
NATO Gunship helicopters violated Pakistani Airspace for ten minutes at Torkham Border in Khyber Agency.

By: Babar Lodhi

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NATO Gunship helicopters violated Pakistani Airspace for ten minutes at Torkham Border - Video

BRUSSELS, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- NATO's multinational "Noble Justification" maritime exercise is underway in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The purpose of the exercise, explained NATO's Maritime Commander, Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, is to help "NATO to develop force integration, multinational inter-operability and enhance readiness, by using of an improved technology."

"It exercises a high-density, high-threat scenario in which NATO responds to a threat to its integrity, and the sovereignty, of its member states."

Fourteen NATO nations, including the U.S., are participating in the maritime exercise involving 5,000 military personnel, more than 20 warships, and several submarines and aircraft.

Lt. Gen. D. Michael Day, deputy commander of the NATO Joint Force Command Naples remarked that "'Noble Justification' is not just important to the life cycle of the [NATO Response Force] but also acts to assure NATO members and their allies, of the Alliance's unity, ability and commitment to respond to any threat to NATO members' integrity and sovereignty."

NATO's new secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has emphasized that "NATO's most important task is to protect and defend our nations against attack," a commitment that comes at a time of heightened concern about Russian aggression and the rise of Islamic extremism in the Middle East.

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NATO maritime exercise 'Noble Justification' underway in Mediterranean and Atlantic

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) NATO's top military commander said Wednesday that the alliance would welcome the withdrawal of Russian troops from a Russian region bordering Ukraine, but that it has seen no "major movement" so far.

On Saturday Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered about 17,600 Russian troops to return to their bases from Rostov. The region in Russia borders east Ukraine, where pro-Russian insurgents have been battling government troops since April.

"We would welcome withdrawal of troops on that border, and we are anxiously watching what is happening," U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a NATO conference in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

"We have not seen major movements yet," he said. "Now we will watch to see if there is delivery on the promise."

Russia has consistently denied Ukrainian and Western claims that it has supported the insurgency in eastern Ukraine with weapons, expertise and fighters, saying troops stationed in Rostov are participating in drills.

NATO has countered previous Russian claims of troop withdrawals. In the spring, the U.S. and NATO said Russia had deployed about 40,000 troops near the border, though Putin ordered the troops back to their home bases in late May. While the U.S. and NATO did confirm those moves, in August they said Moscow was again bolstering its forces in the region and that Russia had allowed troops and vehicles to cross the border to assist the separatists.

"Actions speak louder than words," another top NATO military commander, Gen. Frank Gorenc, who heads the alliance's air command and the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, told the AP. "And the fact of the matter is, in today's environment strategic messaging without action are just words. And so their actions remain to be seen."

Breedlove noted it was important for the West to comprehend the possible motives for Russia's actions in Ukraine.

"We have to understand in the West that Mr. Putin may actually have felt threatened along the lines of Ukraine leaning to the West, both in the European union and in the NATO alliance," Breedlove said.

Putin has repeatedly accused the U.S., the EU and NATO of stonewalling Moscow's economic and security concerns and trying to pull Ukraine into the Western orbit. He accused the West of encouraging the ouster of Ukraine's former president in February, and cast the annexation of Crimea the following month as a necessary move to protect Russian speakers there.

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NATO Chief: No Russian Withdrawal From Ukraine Border