Turkey, Syria To Cooperate

After decades of enmity, Syria and Turkey have launched a strategic cooperation agreement. This month, the two neighbors signed an agreement meant that included cooperation in the defense and military sectors. The accord also saw the removal of restrictions along the border between Syria and Turkey.

“The brotherhood that exists between our people has been lifted to the political level with joint Cabinet meetings to be held between our two governments,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. Officials said the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan regarded Syria as part of Ankara’s “zero problems with neighbors” policy.

They said Ankara and Damascus have decided to establish what was termed a high-level strategic cooperation panel.“Turkey is your second country and the people of Turkey have opened their arms to welcome you without the need for a visa,” Davutoglu said.

At a joint news conference on Sept. 17, Davutoglu and his Syrian counterpart, Walid Mualem, agreed to lift customs on trade between the two countries. They said trucks that shuttle between Syrian and Turkey would be exempt from taxes. “This is the biggest demonstration of cooperation, solidarity and mutual trust,” Mualem said.

However, Bulent Alireza, a senior researcher at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies commented that “the increasingly close relationship with Damascus, combined with the recent strains in the relationship with Tel Aviv, seems certain to raise additional questions about a possible change of direction in Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East.”

In 2009, Syria and Turkey launched its first military exercise. The exercise took place along the border.The analysts said the Turkish military has not been enthusiastic over cooperation with Syria. Syria has long been seen by the Turkish military as a haven for the Kurdish Workers Party, which has been conducting a long time insurgency operation against the Turkish government.

Some senior Turkish officials said Syria has drafted plans to offer asylum to Kurdish Workers Party operatives. They said the Syrian offer, praised by neighboring Turkey, would demand that the PKK agents renounce violence and surrender their weapons. “Our fight against the terrorist organization would be affected a great deal if some of these Syrians quit the organization and climb down the mountain,” Turkish Chief of Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug said.

In a briefing on Sept. 22, Basbug said the PKK contained an estimated 1,500 Syrian fighters, or more than one-third of the total insurgency force. He said Syrian members of the PKK were based in Iraq’s Kandil mountains.

The Syrian offer was announced by President Bashar Assad in mid-September. Assad said Syrian members of PKK could be allowed to return home if they renounce membership in the insurgency group.

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American Tanks For Lebanon

The U.S. is continuing its effort to rebuild the Lebanese armed forces. While Russia has recently contributed ten MiG-29 fighters, the U.S. contribution has been a lot more practical. Like over 600 hummers (about half are already there, the rest will arrive over the next four months). That's just the beginning, with 200 larger trucks and 41 155mm howitzers on the way. Recently it was announced that several dozen M-60A3 tanks would be sent as well.

Some Lebanese pundits pointed out that these tanks, which were retired by the United States in the 1990s, are no good against the new Israeli Merkava 4 (similar to the latest models of the U.S. M-1.) What these pundits didn't point out was that M-60A3s were easily able to defeat Iraqi T-72s in 1991, and are widely used in the Middle East (Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan). The Lebanese generals know this, and are glad to have the M-60A3s, which are more likely to be used against Syrian T-72s, than Israeli Merkavas. The U.S. is also supplying the Lebanese with communications gear, radars, sensors, technical assistance and all manner of training.

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Morocco orders military aircaft

Morocco has ordered four military transport aircraft in a deal worth €130m ($167m). Rabat has purchased the C-27J Spartan tactical air transport planes from the Italian group Alenia Aeronautica, a subsidiary of the aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica.

The C-27J Spartan is capable of multiple roles, from troop transport and medical operations, to search and rescue missions, and humanitarian assistance.

Finmeccanica and Alenia Aeronautica recently agreed a partnership with Mubadala Development Company in Abu Dhabi. Finmeccanica will partner Mubadala to manufacture aerospace components for civilian aircraft, with Alenia Aeronautica providing technology, technical assistance and specialised training.

YourDefenceNews

Military Coup in Mauritania

The junta that took over Mauritania promised to swiftly hold "free and transparent" presidential elections in a statement read on national radio Thursday, as the international community condemned the military coup.

The 11-member Military Council led by former head of the presidential guard General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz had on Wednesday "ended the power of the president of the republic, invested on April 19 2007," the statement said.

The overthrown head of state, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, in March 2007 became Mauritania's first democratically elected president since independence in 1960.
The junta would together with other institutions "supervise the holding of presidential elections enabling the relaunch of the democratic process in the country and to reshape it on a perennial basis," the statement said. It promised: "These elections, which will be held in the shortest possible period, will be free and transparent and will bring for the future a continued and harmonious functioning of all the constitutional powers."

The international airport of Nouakchott, closed down Wednesday after the bloodless coup, was reopened in the evening, a security source said. The country's land borders had remained open.

Abdallahi was ousted after he tried to sack senior army officers accused of being behind a political crisis destabilising the country. He was arrested after military convoys rolled through the capital Nouakchott and took over the presidential palace and the prime minister's office, apparently without a shot being fired.Soldiers also took over the national radio and television headquarters, replacing the directors.

A statement read on public radio later said General Abdel Aziz, the head of the presidential guard sacked that morning, was leading the coup. The newly constituted Military Council said it was immediately annulling the army appointments made by the president.

The president's whereabouts were unknown after the coup, while Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf was taken to an army barracks near the presidency, security sources said. The former interior minister and two other officials considered to be close allies of Abdallahi were also arrested, security sources said. According to the Mauritanian news agency Agence Nouakchott d'Information (ANI), Abdel Aziz met the rest of the government ministers Wednesday afternoon and asked them to stay on in their posts.

The coup comes a little over a year since Abdallahi came to power in elections hailed as a model of democracy for Africa, following a three-year transition after a bloodless coup in August 2005.

Mauritania has been facing a political crisis and on Monday 48 members of parliament walked out on the ruling party less than two weeks after a vote of no confidence in the government prompted a cabinet reshuffle.

The largely desert country has a history of coups since gaining independence from France in 1960. On top of growing economic and social unrest in the country which has been hard hit by the global food crisis as it imports more than 70 percent of its food needs, Mauritania was shaken by terrorist attacks recently.

AFP

Lebanon crisis deepens

A sudden flare-up of street violence in Beirut appears to have broken an 18-month political impasse between the Western-backed government and the opposition, led by the militant Shiite Hezbollah.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday that the pro-Western government has declared 'war' on his militant group.

This is a turning point. There can be no more cohabitation between the government and the opposition. All trust is gone," says Amal Saad Ghorayeb, a Lebanese political analyst and expert on Hezbollah "The state is going to be the focus of the struggle, symbolically and practically as well."

The showdown was triggered by a dispute over Hezbollah's private telephone network, with the government declaring the network illegal earlier this week.

"The decision is tantamount to a declaration of war ... on the resistance and its weapons in the interest of America and Israel," said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a news conference aired live on television Thursday. "Those who try to arrest us, we will arrest them. Those who shoot at us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it off."

The coming days could decide which vision of Lebanon ultimately triumphs – a liberal, Western-friendly, free-market economy and tourist hub catering to wealthy Arabs; or a key component of a regional alliance that seeks to confront Israel and thwart Western influence in the Middle East.

Many analysts predicted that the stalemate would continue for many more months as neither side could afford a confrontation that could lead to civil war.

On Wednesday, Sheikh Rashid Qabbani, the highest Sunni authority in Lebanon, used unusually harsh words to denounce Hezbollah as a "gang of outlaws," warning that Sunnis "have had enough."

Tensions in Lebanon have erupted on the streets before, but each time the rival leaderships have pulled back from the brink. This time, however, both sides appear determined to proceed along their perilous paths. "It's a showdown. No one can back down," says a European diplomat.

Hezbollah's telecom network

It has been known for some time that Hezbollah has installed a private non-commercial fiber-optic land-line telephone network to provide secure communications between its leaders and the cadres. The network is extensive, stretching from Hezbollah's headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut to south Lebanon. Since the summer 2006 war with Israel, the system has spread further into the Bekaa Valley in the east and even into mainly Christian and Druze areas of the Mount Lebanon district, according to Marwan Hamade, the minister of telecommunications and a close ally of Mr. Jumblatt.

On Tuesday, after a marathon cabinet session, the government announced that Hezbollah's private network was "illegal and unconstitutional" and referred the file to the judiciary and the United Nations. The UN Security Cabinet is scheduled to discuss Thursday the latest report on the implementation of Resolution 1559, which includes a clause calling for the dismantling of "all Lebanese and non-Lebanese armed groups," a reference to Hezbollah and militant Palestinian factions.

The government also launched an investigation into the alleged monitoring of Beirut airport and dismissed the head of airport security, who is close to Mr. Berri. Hezbollah reacted angrily to the cabinet decisions.

The showdown hit the streets on Wednesday when a general strike to protest rising prices swiftly turned into a confrontation between supporters of rival factions. Hezbollah has set up barricades on the highway connecting the city center to Beirut airport and vow to remain until the government withdraws its cabinet decisions.

Christian Science Monitor

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Heavy fighting broke out between government supporters and their opponents in northern Lebanon. The heaviest clashes took place in the northern city of Tripoli, where pro-government supporters in the Tebaneh neighborhood exchanged rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine gun fire with opposition followers in Jabal Muhsin.

The fighting in the north intensified in the early hours on Sunday, but the situation calmed down later as Lebanese troops began deploying.

Meanwhile, west Beirut, a Muslim-majority area, has been mostly calm since Hezbollah and its allies seized control of many neighborhoods on Friday from Sunnis loyal to the government. In Bekaa Valley in the east, sporadic clashes took place between the two groups in different towns and villages. The road leading to the main border crossing point with Syria was still closed by pro-government supporters in retaliation for the opposition's closure of the airport road.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora made a key concession to the Hezbollah-led opposition in a speech on Saturday, however, and the army, widely seen as a neutral force in Lebanon, afterward called for Hezbollah gunmen to withdraw from the streets of Beirut and reopen blocked roads. Most Hezbollah fighters complied, leaving just a handful of its armed allies on the streets.

The army offered Hezbollah a compromise, saying the airport security chief would retain his post and recommending that the government reverse the decision on the phone network.

That proposal - quickly embraced by both government leaders and the opposition - sharply underscored the Lebanese Army's role as the one national institution seen as neutral here. Many have feared that the army would fragment along sectarian or political lines, as it did during Lebanon's 15-year civil war.

In this crisis, as in others, the army stood passively by, unwilling to be seen as taking sides, even when street battles were taking place. Still, the army's proposal is likely to enhance the political prospects of its leader, General Michel Suleiman, who appears to be the only man both political camps are willing to accept as Lebanon's next president.

IHT.com

France, Morocco economic partnership deals

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Friday announced the signing of a raft of economic tie-ups with Morocco, alongside the sale of a naval warship to aid defence coordination.

"France is to sell a FREMM (European Multi-Mission Frigate) to Morocco," Fillon told a press conference in Rabat. "It is identical to those in the French fleet, which will make cross-naval cooperation straightforward." The agreements were originally reached in October during President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit, with the frigate contract compensating Paris after the collapse of a deal to buy Rafale fighter aircraft from French manufacturers Dassault.

The other major element was a grant of 75 million euros (120 million dollars) for a feasability study on a high-speed rail line between Tangiers, across the Gibralter Straits from Spain, and Casablanca on the Atlantic coast. The line would plug into France's TGV network, already extended across European borders, and Fillon said that during their lunchtime meeting, King Mohammed VI expressed his desire to see it extended inland to Marrakech.

France will also loan Morocco 150 million euros for the installation of a tram network in the capital Rabat, with two French companies -- Alstom and Colas -- having been chosen for the engineering project.

Judicial and social conventions make up the remainder of the package signed in the presence of Fillon's counterpart, Abbas El Fassi. Fillon said the ninth Franco-Moroccan intergovernmental seminar had shown that there is "not the slightest disagreement between France and Morocco" and that the two countries had a shared outlook which was "perfect".

AFP

Russia swaps Libya debt for deals

Russia has agreed to cancel $4.5bn (£2.3bn) of Libyan debt in exchange for major contracts for Russian firms. The announcement came during a visit to Tripoli on Thursday by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Libya was a big importer of Soviet weaponry during the Cold War, when it accumulated large debts.

The two countries signed deals on energy co-operation, military assistance and construction of a 500km (310-mile) railway line in Libya.

Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom plans large-scale exploration and production projects with Libya's national energy company. They will include liquefied natural gas installations and gas-fired electricity plants in Libya.
Russia will provide the technology for Libya to build a major rail link between Sirte and Benghazi. Construction is expected to take four years.

Gazprom is also holding preliminary talks with Nigeria about a multibillion-dollar project to deliver Nigerian gas to Europe via a pipeline across the Sahara. The project is costed at $10bn for the pipeline and $3bn for other installations, delivering up to 30bn cubic metres a year of gas to Europe. The 4,128km (2,580-mile) pipeline from Nigeria will cross Niger and Algeria. Mr Putin said Libya "is orientated towards the most active co-operation with Russia in all areas".

President Putin is now in Sardinia for talks with Italian Prime Minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi. The Italian firm Eni is also involved in big energy projects in Libya and already has a close partnership with Gazprom.

Russian cruiser heads for the Mediterranean

The missile cruiser The Moskva has set sail for military exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. The mission is part of Russia’s programme of reviving its navy for the 21st century.

First commissioned in 1983, it is the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The ‘Moskva’, former ‘Slava’ is an 11,490 tonne vessel. It has just embarked on a new mission and is sailing for the Mediterranean. Leaving the historic port of Sevastopol, it will make its way through the Bosporus strait before reaching an undisclosed destination somewhere near Malta.

Here the cruiser will join the Northern Fleet for training exercises, as the Russian Navy renews its military patrol of the Mediterranean. The move is supported by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Mevedev, who has called for Russia’s maritime power to be restored.

“We hope for the best. This is the first time since the Soviet Union that such mission will be conducted on such a scale,” a sailor says.

The composition of the fleet is extensive. An aircraft carrier, anti-submarine ships, more than 40 planes and ten helicopters will support the ‘Moskva’ missile cruiser. “The cruiser will carry out two missile shooting exercises. The first shooting - form its main striking system. The second will be an anti-aircraft shooting. The cruiser is fully equipped and ready for exercises and we hope it will perform successfully,” said Aleksandr Klyotskov, Black Sea Fleet Commander.

The Moskva will drop anchor in crowded sea and close-by will be another dominant naval power - the U.S. Sixth Fleet. But the Moskva won’t be there for long, next stop is the Atlantic.

Turkey attacks Kurdish rebels

Turkish planes and helicopter gunships have bombed Kurdish rebels along the border with Iraq.

Turkey has ramped up military operations along its southern border with Iraq, with aircraft reportedly bombarding the mountainous terrain on Wednesday, part of a growing confrontation that threatens to open a new northern front in the Iraq war.

While intense diplomatic efforts continued to prevent large-scale violence, Turkish military helicopters and warplanes attacked hideouts thought to be used by Kurdish rebels as they travel between Iraq and Turkey, the Turkish state-run Anatolian news agency reported.

Turkey's parliament last week approved a resolution authorizing a military offensive into Iraq to pursue the guerrilla fighters who live along both sides of the border and are accused of killing dozens of Turkish citizens in recent weeks. The prospects for such an invasion appeared to gain momentum after PKK fighters killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers in an ambush Sunday. The PKK also claims to have captured eight Turkish soldiers, and video footage of captives was broadcast on Iraqi and Turkish television stations.

Residents of northern Iraq say that both Turkey and Iran have shelled areas within northern Iraq sporadically for years. Turkey's military also has staged several raids into Iraq in the past under what it says is the right of "hot pursuit" against PKK rebels.

Dozens die in Turkey border clash

At least 12 Turkish soldiers have been killed following an ambush by Kurdish rebels near the Iraqi border - with 32 rebels also killed, officials say.

The PKK guerrilla group claimed it had also taken "several" soldiers hostage. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recalled security officials to Ankara for a crisis meeting. Correspondents say the attacks will increase the pressure on the government to launch raids into Iraq, after it was given clearance to do so by parliament.

On Wednesday, MPs voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion to allow the military to launch offensives across the border, against rebels based in the remote, mountainous north of Iraq.

It followed an escalation of raids by the PKK - the Kurdistan Workers' Party - as part of its armed campaign for Kurdish autonomy. Recent attacks blamed on the group have left more than 30 Turkish soldiers and civilians dead.

About 3,000 PKK fighters are believed to be based in northern Iraq near the Turkish border, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul. There have been regular clashes in the area since earlier in the year, but the latest attack was one of the deadliest for some time. The clashes will increase pressure on the government from the public and the military for a tough response, our correspondent says.

The United States, Turkey's Nato ally, has called for restraint, fearing that any incursions would destabilise Iraq's most peaceful area - the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.