NATO's ‘hysteria’ over Russia stalking their satellites is only to get more money – MPs

8 Feb, 2020 17:56

Get short URL

FILE PHOTO: Conceptual illustration of a US satellite. © Reuters / NASA

Foll

Claims that Russia is using its spacecraft to spy on NATO satellites have no real backing and are used to justify funding requests as the US and its allies are militarizing space, Russian MPs said.

Earlier this week, French General Andre Lanata, who is NATO's supreme allied commander transformation, sounded the alarm over a recently-launched Russian satellite synchronizing its orbit with an American surveillance spacecraft.

“It is a threat to our allies,” Lanata told the Washington Examiner. “It's a key question. We need to be sure that we give to our forces this space asset support.”

The commander went on, saying that space used to be considered “a safe haven,” but now, thanks to the actions of Russia and China, “it's not the case anymore.”

Washington and NATO have been increasingly accusing Moscow and Beijing of developing technologies for space warfare in order to cripple the US military communications and GPS networks, but as often happens the claims were never backed by any convincing proof.

“We can imagine many different ways and many different kinds of aggression in space,” Lanata said.

ALSO ON RT.COM'Direct threat to peace': China raises alarm as US Space Force receives first funding

A Russian satellite stalking his NATO counterpart really was a figment of the French general's imagination, Aleksey Chepa, the deputy head of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament, said, explaining that that the spacecraft in question was “a civilian satellite, which was carrying out activities needed for its own readjustment.”

The “hysteria” artificially raised by the NATO commanders is really directed at the parliaments of their countries in order to make them increase defense budgets, including military space programs, he added.

ALSO ON RT.COMPutin: Russia is against militarization of space but US sees it as theater of war

Anton Morozov, another foreign affairs committee member, reminded that Russia consistently supports the demilitarization of space and its use for solely peaceful purposes.

He noted that Russian satellites can record the elements of American military infrastructure in space and the words of the NATO general should be viewed as “a revelation of own malign intentions.”

“They prove that… they [the US and NATO] keep militarizing space, which can lead to very sad consequences,” Morozov said.

Space Warriors: Democrats Give Trump His Space Force for Xmas

DECEMBER 27, 2019

Space Warriors: Democrats Give Trump His Space Force for Xmas

by KARL GROSSMAN

President Trump last week signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020 that establishes a U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces—despite the Outer Space Treaty designating space as a global commons to be used for peaceful purposes.

Reported Space News: “Trump signed the NDAA flanked by top defense and military officials at a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.” It quoted Trump saying: “Today marks a landmark achievement as we officially inaugurate the newest branch or our military, the U.S. Space Force. This is very big and important moment.”

The Space News article quoted U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper saying at the signing December 20: “Our reliance on space-based capabilities has grown dramatically and today outer space has evolved into a warfighting domain of its own. Maintaining American dominance in that domain is now the mission of the United States Space Force.”

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, said of what happened: “The words ‘warfighting domain’ and US ‘dominance in space’ indicate that the Pentagon is actively planning to fight a war in space. This misguided notion is probably the most dangerous and frightening development of my lifetime—and I had thought the Cold War-era was bad. The idea that the U.S. thinks it can fight and ‘win’ a war in space is indeed the height of insanity.”

The U.S. Congress joining with the Trump administration “to push forward with this ‘US exceptionalism to the max’ notion indicates just how much the aerospace industry has taken control of Washington,” Gagnon, of Brunswick, Maine, continued.

“It is clear to me that what the Pentagon has long called ‘the largest, and most expensive, industrial project in human history—‘Star Wars,’ will drive our nation’s economy over the cliff,” said Gagnon. “There will be rockets and weapons in space and more homeless across the nation than anyone could ever imagine. Yes, we should call it Pyramids to the Heavens. The aerospace industry is the contemporary version of the Pharaohs of Egypt and the taxpayers will be the slaves. But everything has an Achilles Heel and the enormous cost of Star Wars could just be it.”

He stated: “It’s more than the right time for the public to declare a resounding NO.”

RO -- Manlio Dinucci -- Summitul lansează NATO în spațiu, costuri până la stele

Summitul lansează NATO în spațiu,

costuri până la stele

Manlio Dinucci

ENGLISH FRANÇAIS  ITALIANO NEDERLANDS NORSK 

PORTUGUÊS  ROMÎNA

Are loc la Londra, pe 4 Decembrie, Consiliul Atlanticului de Nord, al Sefilor de Stat și de Guvern, care sărbătorește aniversarea a 70 de ani ai NATO, definit de Secretarul General, Jens Stoltenberg, “ca alianța cea mai reusita din Istorie”.

Un "succes" incontestabil. De la demolarea prin război, a Federației Iugoslave, în 1999, NATO s-a extins de la 16 la 29 de țări (30 daca includem acum Macedonia de Nord), extinzându-se spre Est, foarte aproape de Rusia. "Pentru prima dată în Istoria noastră - subliniază Stoltenberg - avem trupe gata de luptă în Estul Alianței noastre". Dar Organizația Tratatului Atlanticului de Nord a mers și mai departe, extinzându-și operațiunile de război de la Munții afgani și prin deșerturile africane și ale Orientului Mijlociu.

Acum Marea Alianță ambitionează și mai mult. La Summit-ul de la Londra - anunță, anticipat, Stoltenberg – conducatorii celor 29 de țări membre "vor recunoaște Spațiul ca al cincilea nostru cîmp de operatiuni", care se alătură pamîntului, mării, aerului și spațiului cibernetic. "Spațiul este esențial pentru succesul operațiunilor noastre", subliniaza Secretarul General, lasînd sa se înteleaga că NATO va dezvolta un program spațial militar. Evident, nu oferă detalii, dar informează că NATO a semnat primul contract de 1.000.000.000 de dolari pentru modernizarea celor 14 avioane AWACS, ale lui. Ele nu sunt simple avioane radar, dar centre de comandă zburătoare, produse de Boeing americana, pentru gestionarea bătăliei prin intermediul sistemelor spațiale.

Desigur, aproape niciunul dintre liderii europeni (pentru Italia, Prim-ministrul Conte) care, pe 4 Decembrie, "vor recunoaște Spațiul ca al cincilea nostru câmp de operațiuni", cunoaște programul spațial militar al NATO, pregătit de Pentagon și de comandourile superioare militare europene subordonate, împreună cu principalele industrii aerospațiale. Cu atât mai puțin stiu Parlamentele, ca cel italian, care acceptă orice decizie a NATO-ului, sub comanda SUA, fără sa se preocupe cu implicațiile lor politico-militare și economice.

NATO este lansata în Spațiu în continuarea noului Comandament spațial creat de Pentagon, în luna August, cu scopul, declarat de Președintele Trump, de "a garanta că domeniul american al Spațiului nu va fi niciodată amenințat". Trump apoi a anunțat, sțabilirea ulterioară a Forței Spațiale a Statelor Unite, cu sarcina de a "apăra interesele vitale americane în Spațiu, viitorul câmp de luptă al războiului". Rusia și China acuză SUA de a deschide calea pentru militarizarea Spațiului, avertizând că au capacitatea de a răspunde. Toate acestea maresc pericolul războiului nuclear.

Chiar dacă programul spațial militar al NATO nu este încă cunoscut, un lucru este sigur: va fi extrem de costisitor. La Summit, Trump va presiona aliații europeni pentru ca să-și mărească cheltuielile lor militare spre 2% sau mai mult, din PIB. Până în prezent, au făcut-o opt țări: Bulgaria (care a ridicat la 3,25%, ceva mai putin de 3,42%, al SUA), Grecia, Marea Britanie, Estonia, România, Lituania, Letonia și Polonia. Ceilalti, cu toate ca ramîn sub 2%, sunt angajati să le marească. Determinată de cheltuiala masiva a SUA - 730.000.000.000 de dolari în 2019, de 10 ori superioara celei a Rusiei - cheltuiala militara anuala a NATO, conform datelor oficiale, depășește 1.000.000.000.000. de dolari. De fapt, este superioara celei indicate de NATO, deoarece nu include diferite elemente de natură militară: de exemplu, cea a armelor nucleare ale SUA, înscrisa în buget, nu cel al Pentagonului, ci cel al Departamentuluiul de Energie.

Cheltuiala militara italiana, care a crescut de la 13º la locul 11º în lume, în termeni reali, se ridica la aproximativ 25.000.000.000 de euro pe an, mereu în creștere. În luna Iunie, guvernul Conte I, a adăugat 7.200.000.000 de euro, de asemenea oferite de Ministerul Dezvoltării Economice, pentru a achiziționa sisteme de armament. În Octombrie, în cadrul reuniunii sale cu Secretarul General al NATO, guvernul lui Conte II, a promis să o mărească în mod constant cu aproximativ 7.000.000.000 de euro pe na, începînd din 2020 (La Stampa, 11 Octombrie 2019).

La Summit-ul de la Londra, îi vor fi cerute Italiei mai multe miliarde din banii publici, pentru ca să finanțeze operațiunile militare ale NATO-ului în Spațiu, în timp ce nu există bani pentru a menține în siguranță și pentru a reconstrui viaductele care se prăbușesc.

Il manifesto, 3 Decembrie 2019

Traducere: Light Journalist

http://www.natoexit.it/en/home-en/

http://www.natoexit.it/

«DECLARATIA DE LA FLORENTA»

DANSK DEUTSCH ENGLISH ESPAÑOL  FRANÇAIS ITALIANO  NEDERLANDS
PORTUGUÊS ROMÎNA SLOVENSKÝ SVENSKA TÜRKÇE РУССКИЙ 

Manlio Dinucci

Geograf și geopolitolog. Cele mai recente cărți: Laboratorio di geografia, Zanichelli 2014; Diario di viaggio, Zanichelli 2017; L'arte della guerra / Annali della strategia USA / NATO 1990-2016, Zambon 2016, Guerra Nucleare. Il Giorno Prima 2017; Diario di guerra Asterios Editores 2018, Prémio Internacional de Análise Geostratégica acordat pe 7 iunie 2019 de Club de Periodistas de México, A.C.

NORSK -- Manlio Dinucci -- Toppmøtet sender NATO ut i verdensrommet - til opprørende kostnader

Toppmøtet sender NATO ut i verdensrommet - til opprørende kostnader

av Manlio Dinucci

NATOs toppmøte den 4. desember vil komme med en hendelse der vasallene vil gå med på enda større utgifter pålagt dem av sin øverste herre. Det er ingen som vet hva Pentagon har forberedt, men de vil alle sammen måtte gå med på det.

VOLTAIRE NETWORK | ROMA (ITALIA) | 8 DÉCEMBRE 2019 

FRANÇAIS  ITALIANO  PORTUGUÊS  NEDERLANDS  ENGLISH  TÜRKÇE  ROMÂNĂ 

Den 4. desember møttes lederne for stater og regjeringer i The North Atlantic Council i London for å feire alliansens 70-årsdag. Generalsekretær Jens Stoltenberg kaller NATO «historiens mest vellykkede allianse».

En unektelig «suksess». Etter at de rev fra hverandre Den Jugoslaviske Føderasjon i 1999 med krigen sin, har antallet NATO-medlemmer økt fra 16 til 29 land (30 hvis man regner med Makedonia). Og de er blitt utvidet østover mot Russlands grenser.

«For første gang i historien», skryter Stoltenberg,» har vi nå kampklare tropper i den østlige delen av vår allianse».

Men The North Atlantic Treaty Organization har gått lenger enn det. De har utvidet sine krigs-operasjoner til også gjelde fjellene i Afghanistan og i ørkenen i Afrika og i Midt-Østen.

NL -- Manlio Dinucci -- De Top Conferentie stuurt de NAVO de ruimte in - tegen exorbitante kosten

De Top Conferentie stuurt de NAVO de ruimte in - tegen exorbitante kosten

Manlio Dinucci

ENGLISH FRANÇAIS  ITALIANO NEDERLANDS PORTUGUÊS

Op 4 december kwam de Noord-Atlantische Raad van staatshoofden en regeringsleiders in Londen bijeen om de 70ste verjaardag van de NAVO te vieren, die door secretaris-generaal Jens Stoltenberg werd omschreven als "de meest succesvolle alliantie in de geschiedenis".

Een onmiskenbaar "succes". Sinds het de Joegoslavische Federatie in 1999 verwoeste door oorlogshandelingen, is het NAVO-lidmaatschap gestegen van 16 naar 29 landen (30 als het nu ook Macedonië omvat), en is het naar het oosten uitgebreid tot de grenzen van Rusland. "Voor het eerst in de geschiedenis - beweert Stoltenberg- hebben we nu gevechtsklare troepen in de oostelijke vleugel van onze alliantie". Maar de Noord-Atlantische Verdragsorganisatie is verder gegaan dan dat, door haar oorlogsvoering uit te breiden tot in de Afghaanse bergen en doorheen de woestijnen van Afrika en het Midden-Oosten.

Momenteel legt de Grote Alliantie de lat zelfs nog hoger. Op de Top van Londen - voor aangekondigd door Stoltenberg - zullen de leiders van de 29 lidstaten "erkennen dat de ruimtevaart ons vijfde operatiegebied is", dat zal worden toegevoegd aan het land, de zee-, lucht- en cyber ruimtelijke velden. "De ruimte is essentieel voor het welslagen van onze operaties", benadrukte de secretaris-generaal, waarbij hij aangaf dat de NAVO van plan is een militair ruimtevaartprogramma te ontwikkelen. Hij gaf uiteraard geen details, maar zei dat de NAVO een eerste contract van een miljard dollar heeft ondertekend om haar 14 AWAC-vliegtuigen te moderniseren. Dit zijn geen eenvoudige radarvliegtuigen, maar vliegende commandocentra, gebouwd door het Amerikaanse bedrijf Boeing voor het managen van gevechten via ruimtelijke systemen.

Zonder enige twijfel weet bijna geen van de Europese leiders (voor Italië, premier Conte), die op 4 december "zal erkennen dat de ruimtevaart ons vijfde operatiegebied is", niets van het ruimte militaire programma van de NAVO, dat is opgesteld door het Pentagon en de Europese militaire topontmoetingen die verbonden zijn aan de grootste luchtvaartindustrie. En nog minder van deze programma's is bekend bij de Europese parlementen, die, net als in Italië, alle besluiten van de NAVO - onder Amerikaans bevel - aanvaarden zonder rekening te houden met de politiek-militaire en economische gevolgen ervan.

Dus de NAVO gaat van start in de ruimte in het kielzog van het nieuwe ruimtevaartcommando dat afgelopen augustus door het Pentagon is opgericht met als doel, zoals president Trump heeft verklaard, "ervoor te zorgen dat de Amerikaanse dominantie van de ruimte nooit in gevaar zal komen". Trump kondigde vervolgens de opeenvolgende oprichting van de Amerikaanse ruimtemacht aan, met als missie "het verdedigen van vitale Amerikaanse belangen in de ruimte, het volgende gebied van oorlogsvoering". Rusland en China beschuldigden de VS ervan dat zij de weg vrijmaken voor de militarisering van de ruimte en waarschuwden dat zij in staat zijn te reageren. Dit alles maximaliseert de dreiging van een nucleaire oorlog.

Ook al kennen we het ruimtelijk militair programma van de NAVO nog niet, één ding is zeker - het zal erg duur zijn. Op de Top zal Trump druk uitoefenen op de Europese bondgenoten om hen te dwingen hun militaire uitgaven te verhogen tot 2 procent of meer van hun BBP. Tot nu toe hebben acht landen dat gedaan: Bulgarije (dat zijn bijdrage heeft verhoogd tot 3,25 procent, net onder de 3,42 procent van de VS), Griekenland, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, Estland, Roemenië, Litouwen, Letland en Polen. De andere landen, die onder de 2% blijven, hebben ingestemd met de verhoging. De enorme uitgaven van de VS - 730 miljard dollar in 2019, meer dan tien keer zoveel als die van Rusland - hebben de jaarlijkse militaire begroting van de NAVO volgens officiële gegevens doen stijgen tot meer dan 1.000 miljard dollar. In werkelijkheid is het hoger dan door de NAVO is aangegeven, omdat er geen rekening is gehouden met verschillende posten met een militair karakter - bijvoorbeeld die van de Amerikaanse militaire wapens, die niet op de lijst van het Pentagon, maar van het ministerie van Energie staan.

De militaire uitgaven van Italië, die van de 13e naar de 11e plaats in de wereld zijn gestegen, bedragen nu in reële termen ongeveer 25 miljard euro per jaar. Afgelopen juni voegde de regering van de Conte 7,2 miljard euro toe, geleverd door het Ministerie van Economische Ontwikkeling, voor de aankoop van wapensystemen. In oktober heeft de Conte II-regering tijdens een bijeenkomst met de secretaris-generaal van de NAVO afgesproken dit bedrag vanaf 2020 duurzaam te verhogen met ongeveer 7 miljard euro. (La Stampa, 11 oktober 2019).

Op de Top van Londen zullen meer miljarden euro's aan overheidsfinanciën van Italië nodig zijn om de NAVO-operaties in de ruimte te sponsoren, terwijl we het geld voor onze eigen veiligheid en de wederopbouw van ingestorte viaducten niet kunnen vinden.

Dinsdag 3 December 2019 editie van il manifesto

Nederlandse Vertaling: Martien van den Hurk

http://www.natoexit.it/en/home-en/

http://www.natoexit.it/

DECLARATIE VAN FLORENCE

VOOR EEN INTERNATIONAAL FRONT NAVO-EXIT

DANSK DEUTSCH ENGLISH ESPAÑOL  FRANÇAIS ITALIANO  NEDERLANDS

PORTUGUÊS ROMÎNA SLOVENSKÝ SVENSKA TÜRKÇE РУССКИЙ 

Manlio Dinucci

Geographer and geopolitical scientist. His latest books are Laboratorio di geografia, Zanichelli 2014 ; Diario di viaggio, Zanichelli 2017 ; L’arte della guerra / Annali della strategia Usa/Nato 1990-2016, Zambon 2016, Guerra Nucleare. Il Giorno Prima 2017; Diario di guerra Asterios Editores 2018, Premio internazionale per l'analisi geostrategica assegnato il 7 giugno 2019 dal Club dei giornalisti del Messico, A.C.

EN -- Manlio Dinucci -- The Summit sends NATO into space – at exorbitant cost

The Summit sends NATO into space – at exorbitant cost

Manlio Dinucci

FRANÇAIS  ITALIANO  PORTUGUÊS

On 4 December, the North Atlantic Council of heads of State and government met in London to celebrate the 70th anniversary of NATO, defined by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as “the most successful alliance in History”.

An undeniable “success”. Since it demolished the Yugoslav Federation in 1999 by acts of war, NATO membership has risen from 16 to 29 countries (30 if it now covers Macedonia), and expanded Eastward to the borders of Russia. “For the first time in History - claims Stoltenberg- we now have combat-ready troops in the Eastern wing of our Alliance”. But the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has gone beyond that, by extending its war-making operations as far as the Afghan mountains and across the deserts of Africa and the Middle East.

Currently, the Great Alliance is setting the bar even higher. At the London Summit - pre-announced Stoltenberg - the leaders of the 29 member countries “will recognise that space is our fifth field of operations”, to be added to the land, maritime, aerial and cyber-spatial fields. “Space is essential for the success of our operations”, emphasised the Secretary General, hinting that NATO intends to develop a space-based military programme. He obviously gave no details, but said that NATO has signed a first contract of one billion dollars to modernise its 14 AWAC aircraft. These are not simple radar planes, but flying command centres, built by the US company Boeing to manage battles via spatial systems.

Without any doubt, almost none of the European leaders (for Italy, Prime Minister Conte), who, on 4 December “will recognise that space is our fifth field of operations”, knows nothing of NATO's spatial military programme, prepared by the Pentagon and by the European military summits tied to the largest aero-spatial industries. And even less of these programmes is known by European parliaments which, as in Italy, accept all of NATO's decisions – under US command – without a thought for their politico-military and economic implications.

So NATO is going to launch into space in the wake of the new Space Command created by the Pentagon last August with the goal, as declared by President Trump, of “ensuring that American domination of space will never be threatened”. Trump then announced the successive constitution of the US Space Force, with the mission of “defending vital American interests in space, the next field of war combat”. Russia and China accused the USA of opening the way to the militarisation of space, and warned that they have the capacity of responding. All this maximises the threat of nuclear war.

Even if we do not yet know NATO's spatial military programme, one thing is certain – it will be very expensive. At the Summit, Trump will exert pressure on the European allies in an attempt to force them to expand their military spending to 2% or more of their GDP. So far, 8 countries have done so - Bulgaria (which raised its contribution to 3.25%, just below the USA's 3.42%), Greece, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. The others, while remaining below 2%, have agreed to the increase. Dragged along by the enormous USA expenditure - 730 billion dollars in 2019, more than ten times that of Russia – NATO's annual military budget, according to official data, has risen to beyond 1,000 billion dollars. In reality, it is higher than that indicated by NATO, because it does not include various posts of a military character – for example that of US military weapons, which is listed not to the Pentagon but to the Department of Energy.

Italy's military spending, which has risen from 13th to 11th place in the world, has now in real terms reached approximately 25 billion Euros annually. Last June, the Conte government added 7.2 billion Euros, supplied by the Ministry for Economic Development, for the purchase of weapons systems. In October, during a meeting with NATO's Secretary General, the Conte II government agreed to increase this sum durably by about 7 billion Euros as from 2020. (La Stampa, 11 October 2019).

At the London Summit, more billions of Euros of public finances will be required from Italy in order to sponsor NATO's operations in space, while we cannot find the money for our own security and rebuild collapsed viaducts. 

il manifesto, 03 December 2019

Translator: Pete Kimberley

http://www.natoexit.it/en/home-en/

http://www.natoexit.it/

DECLARATION OF FLORENCE

FOR AN INTERNATIONAL FRONT NATO EXITDANSK DEUTSCH ENGLISH ESPAÑOL  FRANÇAIS ITALIANO  NEDERLANDS
PORTUGUÊS ROMÎNA SLOVENSKÝ SVENSKA TÜRKÇE РУССКИЙ

Manlio Dinucci

Geographer and geopolitical scientist. His latest books are Laboratorio di geografia, Zanichelli 2014 ; Diario di viaggio, Zanichelli 2017 ; L’arte della guerra / Annali della strategia Usa/Nato 1990-2016, Zambon 2016, Guerra Nucleare. Il Giorno Prima 2017; Diario di guerra Asterios Editores 2018, Premio internazionale per l'analisi geostrategica assegnato il 7 giugno 2019 dal Club dei giornalisti del Messico, A.C.