Russia renews threats of Iskander deployment

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119022&sectionid=351020602


Russia warns that it may deploy Iskander missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea if new threats emerge in Europe.

On Friday, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdiukov made the comment about the deployment of Iskander missiles on the Baltic Sea, after Bulgaria and Romania said they were in talks with the US on hosting elements of its missile system on their soil.

However, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry denied the reports about hosting elements of a US missile system on its soil, and added that it has never held formal negotiations with NATO about participating in the planned US missile system.

The planned deployment of US interceptor missiles in the Black Sea region has triggered fierce criticism from Moscow.

The new US missile system in Europe comes after Washington scrapped earlier plans for deploying a radar and interceptor missiles in the Czech Republic and Poland respectively.

Russia vehemently opposed those plans as well, considering them a threat to its national security. At the time Moscow had again threatened to deploy the Iskander missile system in the Kaliningrad exclave.

The Iskander missile system is equipped with two solid-propellant single-stage 9M723K1 guided missiles with "quasi-ballistic" capability. The missiles have a range of 400 km (250 miles) and can reportedly carry conventional and nuclear warheads.

UK joins Taliban peace plan strategy

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117055§ionid=351020403


Britain is pushing for peace talks with Taliban leaders in Afghanistan while attempting to map out an exit strategy, as its ally, the US, prepares to deploy more troops to the country.

The British army chief, General David Richards, said on Monday that negotiations with the Taliban could be considered but must be done from a position of strength. "So it's a matter of timing, not the principle," he noted.

He added that a deal should be reached with the Taliban on condition that the group cuts its ties with Al-Qaeda.

The remarks come ahead of this week's international conference on Afghanistan in London, which is set to debate the implementation of more effective strategies in the Central Asian country.

Ways to increase pressure on the Afghan government to give firm commitments on the training of security forces will also be discussed.

General Richards' comments echo the remarks made earlier by General David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command, and General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, who held out the possibility of striking a peace deal with Taliban leaders.

Earlier, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates also recognized the Taliban as part of the political fabric of Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has offered money and jobs to Taliban members in order to persuade them to lay down their arms.

However, US President Barack Obama's new war strategy envisages deploying 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan.

Despite SOFA, US will deploy 21,000 troops in N Iraq

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116267&sectionid=351020201


The United States is to deploy 21,000 US troops in and around the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq despite the security agreement between Baghdad and Washington.

According to the commander of US forces in northern Iraq, Anthony Cucolo, 21,000 US forces will be deployed in Kirkuk and Mosul early next month, the Fars News Agency reported on Saturday.

Cucolo further claimed that the deployment is aimed at preventing what he called the possible Kurd-Arab tension.

Cucolo's remarks come as a surprise as there has been no Kurd-Arab tensions since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

The move is contrary to a security pact, known as the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which was signed on November 17, 2008 by the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and the then US ambassador Ryan Crocker.

Based on the agreement, both sides agreed that US troops should pull out from Iraq's urban areas by the end of June 2009 and be withdrawn altogether from the country by the end of 2011.