Author Archives: markdowe1

Britain, Defence, Government, NATO

RAF Typhoon jets to patrol airspace over the Black Sea

NATO

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Four Typhoon fighter jets are being sent to Romania in May to counter the threat from Russia over the Black Sea.

Four RAF Typhoons are being sent to Romania to help police airspace around the Black Sea and provide reassurance to countries worried about Russia’s military ambitions.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon confirmed jets from 3 (Fighter) Squadron at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire would spend up to four months in the country from May.

They will be based at Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in southeastern Romania and patrol the Black Sea alongside local warplanes.

The 1,370mph aircraft will help detect, track and identify objects approaching or operating within NATO airspace.

The deployment is part of the alliance’s southern air policing mission and was first announced last year – but details of the date and squadron have only just been officially revealed.

Speaking in Whitehall, Sir Michael said: “The UK is stepping up its support for NATO’s collective defence from the north to the south of the alliance.

“With this deployment, RAF planes will be ready to secure NATO airspace and provide reassurance to our allies in the Black Sea region.”

Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey – all members of the alliance – border the Black Sea, along with Russia and Russian-annexed Crimea.

Sir Michael told the Commons defence committee last year that the deployment was motivated by factors including the increasing militarisation of Crimea and insurgency activity.

RAF Typhoons have also contributed to NATO’s mission over Baltic countries since the start of the Crimea crisis in 2014, flying missions out of Estonia and Lithuania.

UK and NATO aircraft intercepted unidentified Russian planes more than 400 times in 2014 alone.

British troops were also recently sent to Estonia (see article) as part of a NATO operation, with the defence secretary saying it was another measure to counter an “increasingly assertive Russia”.

  • Appendage
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Black Sea regional map.

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Britain, Islamic State, Syria, United States

U.S.-backed forces in Syria capture key airbase from ISIS

SYRIA

U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters in Syria have seized control of a strategic airbase from the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) near the eastern city of Raqqa.

The coalition, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is battling to defeat ISIS with the support of U.S.-led coalition aircraft and U.S. Special Forces advisers. The capture of the Tabqa military airbase comes amid fears that the Tabqa dam, the largest in Syria, may be on the verge of collapse.

Clashes appear to be ongoing with militants both inside and outside of the base but the SDF claim that they are controlling as much as “70 percent” of the compound.

The base, located some 25 miles west of Raqqa, has been in the extremist group’s hands since August 2014 when it wrested control of the area from Syrian government forces. After seizing the base, ISIS fighters paraded Syrian regime soldiers in the desert before executing them.

It was Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s last stronghold in Raqqa province before ISIS captured the entire territory. The province is now divided between ISIS, Syrian regime and SDF control.

Tabqa dam remains in ISIS hands, but the city is hemmed in on three sides. The SDF is fighting ISIS in the village of Karama, 10 miles east of Raqqa. According to Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the forces remain stationed at Al-Baleikh Bridge, northeast of Raqqa. The SOHR is a monitoring group with a wide network of contacts on the ground in Syria. Mr Abdulrahman says SDF fighters are 12 miles from the edge of Raqqa to the north, and 18 miles to the northwest.

The U.S.-led coalition continues with its air campaign against the Islamic State even as it draws criticism for incurring civilian casualties. U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly seeking to loosen restrictions on the U.S. military’s ability to launch airstrikes on ISIS in Syria, but the issues presented by such a decision became clear last week when a strike killed 35 civilians at a school sheltering families in Mansoura village near Raqqa, according to the SOHR. The U.S. military has also admitted that another likely airstrike killed 200 civilians in Mosul in the last few days.

The anti-Assad Syrian National Coalition said in a statement that it was “increasingly concerned” with reports of civilian casualties caused by the U.S.-led coalition in its campaign to defeat the extremist group.

The coalition was also criticised for potentially damaging the Tabqa Dam on the Euphrates River, but the SDF denies that any of the coalition’s airstrikes have hit the structure.

The Syrian government claims U.S.-led airstrikes have put the dam out of service, a potentially hazardous development for the region.

“Before the latest strikes by the Americans, the dam was working. Two days ago, the dam was functioning normally,” Nejm Saleh, director of the Syrian government’s General Authority of the Euphrates Dam, told reporters at a briefing.

“There could be collapses or big failures that could lead to flooding,” Saleh said.

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Germany, Government, NATO, Politics, Society, United States

The U.S. raises spectre on German contributions to NATO

UNITED STATES/NATO

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Trump and Merkel share tense first public appearance earlier this month in Washington.

Intro: President Trump issues NATO invoice of some £300bn to Germany. But Chancellor Merkel insists no debt is owed.

ANGELA MERKEL has reportedly ignored Donald Trump’s attempts to extricate £300bn from Germany for what he deems to be owed contributions to NATO.

The controversial President is said to have had an ‘invoice’ printed out outlining the sum estimated by his aides as covering Germany’s unpaid contributions for defence.

Said to be presented during private talks in Washington, the move has been met with criticism from German and NATO officials in Brussels.

While the figure presented to the Germans was not fully revealed by either side, NATO countries pledged in 2014 to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence, something only a handful of nations – including the UK, Greece, Poland and Estonia – currently do.

But the bill has been backdated even further to 2002, the year Mrs Merkel’s predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, pledged to spend more on defence.

Mr Trump reportedly instructed aides to calculate how much German spending fell below two per cent over the past 12 years, then added interest. Estimates suggest the total came to £300bn, with official figures citing the shortfall to be around £250bn, and with £50bn in interest added on.

The Times quoted a German government minister as saying the move was “outrageous”.

The unnamed minister said: “The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations.”

And the London based newspaper quoted a source close to Mrs Merkel saying she has “ignored the provocation”.

The bill follows a disastrous meeting between the pair earlier this month, characterised by Mr Trump’s refusal to shake his peer’s hand.

A day after the meeting, Mr Trump tweeted: “Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with the Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“Nevertheless, Germany owes . . . vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”

In response to the claims, German defence minister Ursula Von der Leyen rejected the notion the European nation owed the US or NATO.

She issued a statement saying: “There is no debt account at NATO.

“Defence spending also goes into UN peacekeeping missions, into our European missions and into our contribution to the fight against [Isis] terrorism.”

Her comments were backed by Ivo Daalder, permanent representative to NATO from 2009 to 2013 under the Obama administration, who queried the President’s understanding of the organisation.

He tweeted: “Sorry Mr President, that’s not how NATO works. The US decides for itself how much it contributes to defending NATO.

“This is not a financial transaction, where NATO countries pay the US to defend them. It is part of our treaty commitment.”

Mr Trump has repeatedly voiced his criticism over member payments to NATO, throwing doubt on the US’ future role in the organisation.

He has singled out a number of NATO countries, including Germany, over their defence contributions claiming the US has been forced to bear the brunt and pick up the tab.

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