US reassures Gulf allies wary over Iran Defence. -Secretary Chuck Hagel's remarks come at a time of rising tensions in their relationship with the GCC.

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US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has said the United States will maintain a wide array of military forces in the Middle East to ensure security in the region despite diplomatic overtures toward Iran over its nuclear program.
Hagel, in prepared remarks to the Manama Dialogue security forum in Bahrain, said on Saturday that the Pentagon had no plan to adjust its military presence or planning in the region as a result of an interim accord on Tehran's nuclear enrichment program.


"We have a ground, air and naval presence of more than 35,000 military personnel in and immediately around the Gulf," he said.
Hagel further added that the interim deal with Iran to roll back its nuclear programme was a risk worth taking but that Western diplomacy should not be "misinterpreted."
"We know diplomacy cannot operate in a vacuum," he said.  "Our success will continue to hinge on America's military power, and the credibility of our assurances to our allies and partners in the Middle East."
The Pentagon "will not make any adjustments to its forces in the region – or to its military planning – as a result of the interim agreement with Iran," he added.
In a trip meant to reassure Gulf allies wary of America's diplomatic opening with Iran, Hagel enumerated an array of US weaponry and resources deployed in the region.
The military footprint includes 10,000 US Army troops with tanks and Apache helicopters, roughly 40 ships at sea including an aircraft carrier battle group, missile defence systems, radar, surveillance drones and warplanes that can strike at short notice, he said.

US not in 'retreat'
A senior US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters the speech sent a message of solidarity to Gulf allies while also conveying a warning to adversaries "that any sort of mythology of American retreat is just wrong-headed."
Gulf allies, especially Saudi Arabia, are concerned over a November 24 interim agreement between world powers and Iran that offers limited relief from Western sanctions in return for Tehran rolling back elements of its nuclear programme.

•  The nuclear deal has strained US relations with the mostly Sunni Gulf Arab states that view Shiite Iran as a dangerous rival.

Hagel acknowledged "anxieties" in the Gulf were running high. "Questions have been raised about America's intentions, strategy, and commitment to the region," he said.
But he promised the US  "will remain fully committed to the security of our allies and our partners in the region."
Although the Pentagon faced the prospect of steep budget cuts, Hagel suggested the big presence in the Middle East would remain a top priority and largely shielded from spending reductions.
In addition to keeping a robust US force in place, Hagel vowed to bolster the military strength of Gulf states, urging regional cooperation on missile defence.
Hagel said he would travel on to Qatar and Saudi Arabia after the Bahrain conference for further talks.
 aljazeera.com
7/12/13 
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United Nations: Most Syrians killed in unlawful conventional attacks, UN human rights panel says

16 September 2013 – The vast majority of Syrians are killed in unlawful attacks using conventional weapons such as guns and mortars, with children making up a large proportion of the casualties, the United Nations-appointed human rights probe today reported, calling for a halt to weapons being supplied to Government and the rebels. 

“Arms transfers should not occur where there is a real risk that they will be used in the commission of crimes against humanity, violations of international humanitarian law, or war crimes. In Syria, this is a tragic reality,” Paulo Pinheiro, the chairman of the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said as he introduced the report to the Human Rights Council.

He noted that failure to bring about a settlement to the conflict has led it to deepen in its intransigence and also to widen “expanding to new actors and to unimaginable crimes”.
As the fighting rages on, civilians continue to bear the brunt. In that context he noted civilians continue to face daily indiscriminate shelling and bombardment by Government forces, and that extremist anti-Government farmed groups have targeted civilians in attacks across the northern governorates.
The UN report on possible use of chemical weapons has not yet been made public, Mr. Pinheiro noted, but the latest diplomatic efforts in Geneva involving Russia and the United States aimed at removing the arsenal “may – may – form the bedrock of a broader negotiation leading to a political settlement of the conflict.”
Mr. Pinheiro, whose leads the Commission comprising of Karen AbuZayd, Carla del Ponte and Vitit Muntarbhorn, said the vast majority of the conflict’s casualties result from unlawful attacks using conventional weapons such as guns and mortars.
“The Government has continued its relentless campaign of air bombardment and artillery shelling across the country,” he said.
Since 15 July, the Commission documented unlawful attacks in 12 of the 14 governorates, with particularly intense shelling in the cities and surrounding areas of Damascus, Homs and Aleppo.
Cluster munitions continue to be dropped on civilian areas, notably in Idlib governorate, Mr. Pinheiro said highlighting some of the findings since the latest report produced by the Commission.
Those include an attack on a school in Awram al-Koubra, Aleppo countryside where the Syrian Government dropped an incendiary bomb on 26 August, according to accounts from survivors of the attack.
Eight students died in the blaze the followed with 50 others suffering fatal burns over up to 80 per cent of their bodies.
“There is no evidence of any opposition fighters or lawful targets near the school,” the Commission concluded.
Government forces have continued to launch attacks on medical personnel and hospitals, according to a separate paper, “Assault of Medical Care in Syria”.
“The discriminatory denial of the right to health as a weapon of war has been a chilling feature of this conflict,” the Commission reported, adding that the sanctity of medical care is disrespected and the sick and wounded are targeted.
Attacks on hospitals have occurred as recently as 12 September, when Government planes attacked a field hospital near Aleppo city, reportedly killing 11 people, and wounding dozens more.
Anti-Government armed groups also launched attacks on medical personnel and hospitals, the Commission established. On 16 August, fighters affiliated to Jabhat Al Nusra and Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham attacked a Kurdish Red Crescent ambulance in Aleppo governorate killing the driver, a patient and a paramedic.
Syria has become an increasingly dangerous place for journalists to work, Mr. Pinheiro said, noting a “disturbing pattern of harassment, arrest and detention” of journalists, especially foreigners.
In the last six weeks, reports have been received of journalists kidnapped by extremist anti-Government armed groups.

• The head of the Commission also noted an “upsurge in crimes and abuses” across northern Syria committed by extremist anti-Government armed groups along with an influx of foreign fighters, in particular Al Muhajireen.

Hundreds of Kurdish civilians in northern Aleppo, Al Raqqah and Al Hasakah have been taken hostage by extremist anti-Government armed groups in connection with prisoner exchanges, according to Mr. Pinheiro.
In his statement, he also highlighted the deteriorating humanitarian conditions, particularly in the Syrian Kurdish areas, and the impact of hostilities on the socio-economic rights of Syrians.
Established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, the Commission is mandated to investigate and record all violations of international human rights law during the Syria conflict.
The Commission is due to make public on Wednesday its latest report based on 258 interviews and other evidence collected during the two-month period between 15 May and 15 July 2013.
 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45858&Cr=syria&Cr1=#.UjdH7n-IzJc
16/9/13
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• Russia disappointed by UN experts’ refusal to revisit Syria. -Carla del Ponte said she had turned down an invitation. 

GENEVA, September 16 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Foreign Ministry is “deeply disappointed” by the fact that experts from the U.N. commission investigating possible human rights violations in Syria have turned down the invitation to visit that country.“We would like to express our deep disappointment at the fact that the experts did not use two invitations to visit the country, sent to commission member Carla del Ponte by both Syria’s Great Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun and the Syrian Government,” Deputy Russian Permanent Representative to the U.N. agencies and other international organisations in Geneva Andrei Nikiforov said on Monday, September 16.
The diplomat took part in a so-called interactive dialogue with the members of the U.N. commission, created in 2011, which presented its latest report to the Human Rights Council. Carla del Ponte said she had turned down an invitation, which was given to her last week, to visit Syria in private capacity as she could travel to the country only as a member of the U.N. commission.
The commission’s report accused the Syrian government of crimes against humanity and rebels of war crimes. Nikiforov noted that the report was “largely biased.” “It gives one the impression that the governmental troops, which are fighting a well-armed and trained army of rebels and foreign mercenaries, are violating international humanitarian law and human rights law. And all this against the background of the appalling crimes against civilians committed by terrorists related to Al-Qaeda,” the diplomat said.

• “We urge the commission to pay this special attention so that its reports work for the benefit of peace, not confrontation,” Nikiforov said.

 http://www.itar-tass.com/c32/878617.html
16/9/13

Russian Navy to hold biggest war games in decades

The four major Russian Navy fleets will hold a joint exercise in late January in the Mediterranean and Black seas. It will be the biggest such event in decades.
­Commands for the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific fleets have been preparing for the exercises since December of last year, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced. Warships detached for the event are currently sailing to those regions.


“The primary goal of the exercise is to train issues regarding formation of a battle group consisting of troops of different branches outside of the Russian Federation, planning of its deployment and managing a coordinated action of a joint Navy group in accordance with a common plan,” the ministry’s information department explained.
The exercise will include several scenarios, including the loading of amphibious troops from an unprepared coast in the Northern Caucasus onto transport vessels.
The announcement comes days after the launch of the nuclear-powered submarine Vladimir Monomakh, the third Borei-class strategic submarine cruiser produced in Russia. The vessel, armed with Bulava ICBMs, will become part of the country’s nuclear deterrence force after completing sea trials.
The Russian Navy's five fleets each have their own headquarters. The strongest, the Northern fleet is based in Severomorsk in north-west of the country. The Baltic fleet is based in Kaliningrad, the western Russian enclave on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
The Black Sea fleet is based in Sevastopol, Ukraine, from which Russia rents a naval base. The Pacific fleet is based in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East. The Caspian flotilla is the smallest in the Russian Navy, but is the strongest naval force in the enclosed Caspian Sea.
Warships from the four main fleets conduct joint naval drills on regular basis to streamline command and control for  operations. Groups of ships detached from different fleets also often sail for joint missions in the high seas. The patrol in the Mediterranean in August 2012 drew worldwide attention amid rumors that the ships would become involved in the Syrian civil war.
 
.rt.com
2/1/13 
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Silent sub: Russian noiseless Borei class nuclear submarine immersed

 Super-modern, powerful and almost noiseless Russian nuclear submarine Vladimir Monomakh has been put in water to become the third ship of the Borei project. The cruiser is about to begin sea trials and mooring to become fully operational in 2013.
­Vladimir Monomakh was laid down at Russia’s largest shipbuilding complex Sevmash, located on the shores of the White Sea in the town of Severodvinsk in northern Russia on March 19, 2006 – the 100th anniversary of the Russian submarine fleet.

­Borei-class submarine
Length: 170 m
Beam: 13.5 m
Draught: 10 m
Test depth: 450 m
Displacement:
14,720 tons surfaced
24,000 tons submerged
Speed: 29 knots (54 km/h)
Complement: 107 (55 officers)
Armament: 16-20 × Bulava SLBMs
6 × 533 mm torpedo tubes
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It belongs to a class of missile strategic submarine cruisers with a new generation of nuclear reactor, which allows the submarine to dive to a depth of 480 meters. It can spend up to three months in autonomous navigation and, thanks to the latest achievements in the reduction of noise, it is almost silent compared to previous generations of submarines.
The submarine is armed with the new missile system, which has from 16 to 20 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles Bulava (SS-NX-30 by NATO classification). The rocket is able to overcome any prospective missile defense system.
On August 27, 2011, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on a successful test of Bulava to investigate its maximum range. The missile was launched from the White Sea, flew 9,300km in just 33 minutes, and then fell in the specified area in the Pacific Ocean.
All Borei class submarines are equipped with a floating rescue chamber designed to fit in the whole crew.

Nuclear submarine (NS) "Yuri Dolgoruky" undergoing sea trials. (RIA Novosti)

The Borei family

The first and head submarine of Borei class, Yury Dolgoruky, has already completed the test program and is to be officially adopted by the Russian Navy on Sunday. Construction of the missile carrier is approximately estimated at around US$770 million, while other Borei class submarines are believed to cost less.
“The hoisting of the flag and the signing of the acceptance act is to be adopted at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk on Sunday, December 30,” the Rubin design bureau that designed the submarine said in a statement on Saturday.
Another missile cruiser of this project, the Aleksandr Nevsky, is undergoing tests, according to Borisov. While a fourth, more advanced submarine, the Knyaz Vladimir, with enhanced technical characteristics and increased ammunition is currently being built.
Over the next eight years Russia plans to have built 10 Borei class submarines altogether, according to the state armaments program of 2011-2020. All Borei class submarines are believed to provide a basis of naval strategic nuclear forces of Russia in the coming decades.
 http://rt.com/news/russian

The nuclear submarine (NS) "Yuri Dolgoruky" in the area of the JSC "Sevmash". (RIA Novosti)