Concern Over New Landmine Use as Summit Ends

PHNOM PENH - Over 100 nations hailed global progress on landmine eradication on Dec. 2 but voiced "deep concern" over the fresh use of the weapon in four countries as a large anti-mine summit ended in Cambodia.

Signatories to the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention expressed "deep concern about new use of anti-personnel mines" in a text adopted after a week-long gathering in the capital Phnom Penh.

It comes after campaigners said last month that Israel, Libya and Syria had joined longstanding offender Myanmar in recently laying the deadly explosives.

Their actions pushed the worldwide use of landmines to a seven-year high in 2011, according to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

But member states at the meeting also noted "significant progress" made by several nations to live up to the Ottawa Treaty, which bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.

Burundi and Nigeria both announced they were mine-free after completing their land clearance obligations, while Turkey said it had fully destroyed its stockpile of some 3 million landmines, after missing an earlier deadline.

Finland was also singled out for praise after it said it was on the verge of becoming the 159th state to join the convention. Somalia is expected to follow in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Myanmar, which has not joined the treaty, encouraged campaigners by taking part in the summit as an observer, suggesting the country was open for dialogue on its stubborn use of the weapon.

Experts warned that many challenges remained as landmines and explosive remnants of war caused 4,191 new casualties in 2010 globally, including more than 1,000 deaths, according to the ICBL.

Delegates vowed to keep up demining efforts despite "difficult financial times".

"In the midst of global economic turmoil there is a concern that states will forget they have an obligation to support each other," Kerry Brinkert, director of the secretariat of the convention, told AFP.

Host country Cambodia, one of the world's most mine-affected places, was promised more funding by Austria and New Zealand.

Cambodia received $24.3 million in aid for its demining activities last year, down from $33.3 million in 2009.

U.S. Hands Key Base Over to Iraqi Control

BAGHDAD - The United States on Dec. 2 handed over to Iraqi control the sprawling Victory Base Complex near Baghdad, the main base from which the U.S. war in Iraq was run, a U.S. military spokesman said.

U.S. SOLDIERS LEAVE Al-Fao palace at Camp Victory, one of the last U.S. bases Iraq, after a special ceremony in Baghdad on Dec. 1. The United States handed over control of the sprawling Victory Base Complex near Baghdad, the main base from which the (Khalid Mohammed / AFP)

"The Victory Base Complex (VBC) was officially signed over to the receivership of the Iraqi government this morning. The base is no longer under U.S. control and is now under the full authority of the government of Iraq," said Col. Barry Johnson, a spokesman for United States Forces - Iraq (U.S.F-I).

"There was no ceremony, just a signing of paperwork akin to the closing of a home sale," Johnson said in a statement emailed to AFP.

Lt. Col. Angela Funaro, a spokeswoman for USF-I, said that U.S. troops had pulled out from VBC in advance and that just five U.S. bases in Iraq now remain to be handed over.

"All U.S. troops departed as of last night," she said. "The air base which adjoined VBC has transferred to the control of the State Department, but has some troops there."

At its peak, VBC housed more than 100,000 people - some 42,000 military personnel and more than 65,000 contractors, according to the U.S. army's top historian in Iraq.

The complex includes an area known as Camp Victory, a sprawling collection of canals, man-made lakes, palm trees and palaces from which the U.S. war in Iraq was run.

The top U.S. generals in Iraq lived in the 25,000-square-foot, 20-room waterfront Al-Ez palace in the area, which also includes the 450,000-square-foot, 62-room Al-Faw palace, which served as the headquarters for various Iraq-wide military commands.

Al-Faw was also used to host speeches and ceremonies, including one on Dec. 1 that was attended by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, and U.S. ambassador James Jeffrey.

"This palace, a grotesque monument to a dictators greed, is totally filled with American and Iraqi warriors, who are bound together by a shared sacrifice in the service of both their countries - an appropriate use of this palace today," Biden said in his remarks at the palace.

The complex also contains two apparently decrepit, bombed-out villas on a small island, which is accessible only by a drawbridge.

While their exteriors would seem to mark them as unimportant, one houses a secret prison that once held now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, as well as his also-executed cousin Ali Hassan Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his involvement in poison gas attacks.

President Barack Obama announced on Oct. 21 that U.S. troops would leave Iraq by the end of 2011, bringing to a close an almost nine-year war that has left thousands of U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis dead, and cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

As of late Thursday, there were less than 12,000 U.S. military personnel, including both soldiers and Department of Defense civilians, remaining in Iraq.

That is down from a peak of about 170,000 soldiers in 2007 at the height of a U.S. troop surge ordered to rein in rampant sectarian bloodshed.

On Dec. 2, eight people were killed and 12 wounded in bomb and gun attacks in Iraq, according to security officials.

Violence has declined in Iraq since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 187 people were killed in November, according to official figures.

Pakistan Green-Lit Deadly NATO Strike: Report

WASHINGTON - Pakistani officials gave the green light for the NATO strikes that killed 24 of their troops last month, unaware that the forces were in the area, the Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 2.

The Journal cited U.S. officials briefed on the preliminary investigation into the incident - the worst exchange of friendly fire between the two reluctant allies in the decade-long war in Afghanistan.

The officials told the Journal that an Afghan-led force including U.S. commandos was pursuing Taliban fighters near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border when they came under fire from what they thought was a militant encampment.

When they called in air strikes on the camp, team members contacted a joint command-and-control center manned by U.S., Afghan and Pakistani troops, and Pakistani representatives said there were no friendly forces in the area, clearing the way for the air assault, the officials told the Journal.

The officials nevertheless acknowledged errors on both sides.

"There were lots of mistakes made," it quoted an official as saying. "There was not good situational awareness to who was where and who was doing what."

They also cautioned that the latest account is based on initial interviews with the commandos involved and could change as more details come to light.

The Pentagon has insisted there was no deliberate attack on Pakistani forces, but U.S. officials have stopped short of apologizing over the incident.

Pakistan has said the air assault on its soldiers was unprovoked and spread over a period of two hours, despite Pakistani protests to the Americans.

Relations have long been tense between the two allies, with Washington accusing elements of Pakistan's military and intelligence services of collaboration with the Taliban and other Islamist militants.

Pakistan has in turn alleged that U.S. drone strikes aimed at militants have killed scores of civilians, stoking extremism and bolstering its own domestic Islamist insurgency.

The friendly fire incident over the weekend set off the worst crisis in relations between the two countries since U.S. commandos swooped in to kill al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May.

Russia Delivers Missiles to Syria: Report

MOSCOW - Russia has delivered supersonic cruise missiles to Syria despite the violence shaking the Arab country and Israel's furious condemnation of the deal, a news report said on Dec. 1.

"The Yakhont supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles have been delivered to Syria," a military source told the Interfax news agency without disclosing when the shipment was made.

Russia signed a contract reportedly worth at least $300 million (222 million euros) in 2007 to supply its traditional Arab world ally with a large shipment of the cruise missiles.

Reports said Russia intended to deliver 72 of the missiles to Syria in all.

The deal immediately angered Israel, which fears the weapons may fall into the hands of Hezbollah militants in neighboring Lebanon.

Russia has since also come under growing pressure from Washington, which wants all military sales to President Bashar al-Assad's regime halted because of his deadly crackdown on Syrian street protests.

But Moscow has defended Assad against global pressure and this week argued that its arms sales were permitted under international law and would continue.

Another Russian official told Interfax that the missiles, which operate as part of the Bastion mobile coastal defense system, "will be able to protect Syria's entire coast against a possible attack from the sea."

Each Bastion system is equipped with 36 cruise missiles as well as truck-mounted radar and other equipment.

It was not immediately clear how many of the missiles Russia has delivered to Syria so far.

Turkey Conveys Concerns Over Missile Shield Threat

ANKARA - Turkey's foreign minister has conveyed Ankara's concerns about an Iranian commander's recent remarks that Tehran will hit NATO's missile shield in Turkey if threatened, a ministry official said Dec. 1.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu "verbally conveyed our concerns to his Iranian counterpart," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Davutoglu met Nov. 30 with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on the sidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Jeddah.

The commander of the aerospace division of Iran's Revolutionary Guards recently said Tehran will target NATO's missile shield in neighboring Turkey if it is threatened by military action.

"We are prepared to first target the NATO defense missile shield in Turkey if we are threatened. And then we'll move on to other targets," Amir-Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

Although Iranian officials have said several times they could retaliate with ballistic missiles against Israel if attacked, Hajizadeh's remark was the first time the Revolutionary Guards spoke of targeting Turkey.

Turkey has agreed to host an early warning radar system in its southeast as part of NATO's shield which the United States says is aimed at thwarting missile threats from the Middle East, particularly Iran.

Turkish officials insist that the shield targets no specific country.

Second Wave of Afghan Transition Kicks Off

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan - A second wave of Afghanistan's transition from NATO to local control officially started Dec. 1 as international forces handed over most of a peaceful province.

All but two districts of Parwan province, north of the capital Kabul, are being handed to Afghan control.

The area is the first to transition formally after President Hamid Karzai announced on Nov. 27 a list of six provinces, seven cities and dozens of districts which are expected to switch in the coming weeks.

The transition process should allow foreign combat troops to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Afghan cabinet ministers and foreign officials including the U.S. commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, attended a ceremony in Parwan's provincial capital Charikar, an AFP photographer said.

The handover was confirmed by interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.

Two districts in the province - Shinwari and Siagerd, where armed insurgents are believed to have more influence than in other parts - will not be included in the second wave of transition.

The first stage of transition began in July, with seven areas handed over.

Around 140,000 foreign troops are in Afghanistan, nearly two-thirds of them from the United States, battling a Taliban-led insurgency.

After combat troops are withdrawn, the main role of foreign forces in the country will be to train and equip Afghan security forces.

Barak: No Iran Strike 'For the Moment'

JERUSALEM - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Dec. 1 ruled out a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities "for the moment," in remarks to public radio, but said that the Jewish state would keep all options open.

ISRAELI DEFENCE MINISTER Ehud Barak attends a weekly cabinet meeting Nov. 27 in Jerusalem. Barak (Baz Ratner / AFP via Getty Images)

"We have no intention of acting for the moment ... We should not engage in war when it is not necessary, but there may come a time or another when we are forced to face tests," Barak said.

"Our position has not changed on three points: a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, we are determined to stop that, and all options are on the table," he added.

Israel and much of the international community fears that Iran's nuclear program masks a drive for a weapons capability. Tehran denies any such ambition and says the program is for peaceful civilian energy and medical purposes only.

Israel has pushed Washington and the EU for tough sanctions against Tehran, but warned that it would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, and that military action to stop the program remained an option.

Barak said he was confident that military action against Iran would not be devastating for Israel.

"War is not a picnic, but if Israel is forced to act, we won't have 50,000, 5,000 or even 500 dead, so long as people stay in their homes," he said, noting that rockets fired at Israel by Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War had not killed a single Israeli.

Asked about potential differences between the United States and Israel on tactics to stop Iranian nuclear development, Barak stressed that the Jewish state would ultimately take the decisions it thought best.

"It must be understood that Israel is sovereign. The government, the army and the security services are the only ones responsible for the security and the existence of Israel," he said.

Barak declined to comment on what was behind at least two explosions in Iranian cities in recent weeks, only one of which has been confirmed by Iranian authorities.

"Anything that sets back the Iranian nuclear program, whether it is accidental or the product of other methods, is welcome," he said, refusing to say whether Israeli forces had any role in the incidents.

On Nov. 28, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, head of research for Israeli military intelligence, told lawmakers that Iran was "using 6,000 centrifuges regularly, out of 8,000 installed."

"Until today, they have managed to accumulate approximately 50 tons of low enriched uranium, and a bit less than 100 kilos of 20 percent enriched uranium," he said.

Brun said Iran would need at least 220 kilos of 20 percent enriched uranium if it decided on a drive for the much higher levels of enrichment necessary to produce a nuclear weapon.

On Nov. 29, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, Amos Yadlin, said he estimated Iran has "enough material for four to five bombs."

But he said Tehran could not immediately assemble a nuclear weapon, if that was their goal.

"Once they decide they want to, it will take them a year to 18 months to attain a bomb," he said.