Mullen: Iran Not Behind Mideast Protests

DOHA, Qatar - Iran foments instability in the Middle East but is not behind popular protests in Bahrain and other countries in the region, top U.S. military officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, said Feb. 21 in Qatar.
"Iran, I still believe, is a country that continues to foment instability in the region, take advantage of every opportunity," said Mullen, who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But "from my perspective that has not been the principal focus of what happened in Egypt or what happened in Bahrain or any of these other countries," he said, referring to popular protests against various Middle East regimes.
"Those are by and large internal issues, as opposed to issues fomented by some external forces," Mullen said, although "there's always concerns in this region with Iran and certainly the U.S. has them as well as all the regional players."
Iran "was part of the discussions today with the Saudis," Mullen said.
Mullen, who began a Gulf tour Feb. 20 in Saudi Arabia, could travel to Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is headquartered, as part of his trip, people travelling with him said.
Protests in the tiny Gulf kingdom, which is ruled by a Sunni dynasty but has a Shiite majority, began on Feb. 14, and are still ongoing.
Seven demonstrators have been killed since the anti-regime protests began, according to an AFP tally based on relatives of victims and opposition officials.
However, the U.S. Navy has said the demonstrations have not disrupted American operations in the kingdom.
"As far as Fifth Fleet operations, no, the demonstrations have not had any impact here - we're continuing to conduct our regular business out here," a spokesman for the Fifth Fleet told AFP on Feb. 21.
In the Qatari capital Doha, Mullen met with Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and army chief of staff Gen. Hamad al-Attiyah.
Mullen is to also travel to the United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, possibly Bahrain, and then to Kuwait to participate in ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the liberation of the country from Iraqi occupation.

Libyan Fighter Jets, Helicopters Land in Malta

VALLETTA - Two Libyan fighter jets with four military personnel on board who said they had escaped Benghazi air base after it was taken over by protesters landed in Malta on Feb. 21, military sources told AFP.
Two civilian helicopters also landed on the Mediterranean island around the same time, carrying seven people who said they were French nationals working on oil rigs near Benghazi, although only one had a passport, the sources said.

The helicopters were given permission to land in Malta but had not been given clearance to leave Libya, indicating that they had escaped, they added.
The fighter jet personnel requested fuel for their aircraft.
All those who have landed are being held at the airport in Malta until their identities are confirmed.

IDEX: Airbus Predicts Mideast A400M Sales

ABU DHABI - Airbus Military sees potential sales of 50 to 100 of its A400M military airlifter in the Middle East and North Africa, Didier Vernet, head of market development at the aircraft company, said Feb. 21 at the IDEX trade show.

Asked about export prospects for the turboprop transport plane in the Middle East region, Vernet said, "Yes, we have prospects."

Airbus Military estimates the world market for military airlifters to total about 800 units over the next 30 years as replacements for the current 1,800 transport fleet. The European company hopes to snare about half the replacement market with the A400M, which aims to hit the segment for payloads of 25 to 50 tons.
The planned KC-390 from Brazil and the Lockheed Martin C-130J would grab sales in the market segment for 12- to 25-ton payload.
Airbus Military hopes the A400M will meet requirements for flying heavier armored vehicles, humanitarian equipment and helicopters.
The company needs to sign contract changes agreed with the seven European launch customers before it can begin selling the A400M to potential export clients.
With a total of 174 units ordered - 170 for the European nations and four for Malaysia - Airbus would fit export deliveries around the planned production of 2.5 to three units per month that is expected from around 2015-2016.
Export prices for the A400M would depend on the mission package selected - 50 "plug in" options are offered - the number of units and services required.
Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxemburg, Spain and Turkey are the seven European launch customers. Britain has canceled three orders and Germany seven for the A400M amid budget constraints.

IDEX: Dassault-UAE Talks Progress on Rafale Sale

ABU DHABI - Talks between Dassault Aviation and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a possible sale of the Rafale fighter jet are going well, with Dassault officials hoping for a deal in the medium to long term, an executive of the aircraft company said at the IDEX trade show.

"The discussions are going well," the executive said. An announcement on the Rafale was not expected in the near term, he said. In the short term, Dassault was supporting the Mirage 2000 operated by the UAE, while the Rafale was seen as a medium- or long-term prospect, he said.

Good relations between the UAE and France have been restored after hitting a rough patch last year, when a report ran late June in the daily newspaper Le Figaro which offended the Abu Dhabi authorities.
The Dassault family owns the Figaro and is the controlling shareholder of Dassault Aviation.
At a low point in bilateral relations, UAE defense officials asked the U.S. government for technical information on the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Subsequently, relations were smoothed out between France and Abu Dhabi.
"They managed to fix it," a gulf defense official said. "The talks are back on."
French Prime Minister François Fillon recently visited Abu Dhabi, seen as a sign of improved ties between Paris and the UAE.
France sets great store by an export sale of the Rafale, which is the standard bearer of national prestige in world politics, a much-needed source of cash for the straitened defense budget and an export beacon for the French aerospace industry.

The Pakistan Navy Custodian of The Country's Coastline

As the custodian of the country's coastline, territorial waters, and Sea Lines Of Communications (SLOCs) the Pakistan Navy has a vital role to play in the defence set-up of the country. The Pakistan Navy's primary role is to guard the country's territorial waters and oversee enforcement of jurisdiction over nearly 240,000 square miles of waters constituting Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The navy is also tasked with protection of Pakistan's SLOCs, its 960km long coastline and its ports, especially the port of Karachi. Barely 150 km from the Indian border, Karachi has the only developed berthing facilities for handling the bulk of Pakistan's trade, naval dockyards, repair and overhauling facilities as well as the strategic national petroleum reserves. Another port of significance is Port Qasim, a more modern commercial port designed primarily for grain exports, but without naval shore facilities. Of lesser importance are the subsidiary ports of Pasni. Jiwani and Gwadar. Critical SLOCs are the maritime routes running from Karachi to the Persian Gulf, the Suez Canal, East Africa and the Far East. After the Passing of the UN Law of Sea Convention of 1982, Pakistan acquired an EEZ of about 240,000 square miles. In order to provide protection to this vast area, the Pakistan Government decided to raise the Maritime Security Agency (MSA), which was formally inaugurated on 1 January 1987. The MSA implements the local and international laws in the EEZ, and provides surveillance against poaching by illegal vessels and unauthorised survey by foreign craft. It also conducts SAR missions, and implements measures for control of pollution and fishery protection. Available SAR facilities include aircraft, surface vessels and a network for the reception of distress signals. Secondary navy's mission comprise coastal surveillance; SAR duties, hydro-graphic surveys, maintaining navigational aids, and law enforcement. As regards in particular the latter, in recent years the navy's role has been expended to include narcotics interdiction, anti-terrorist operations, anti-smuggling, elimination of piracy and combating environmental pollution. The naval headquarters is situated at Islamabad but the fleet as logistic commands are in Karachi, together with most of the training facilities. During the late 1980s, in association with the expansion of the fleet, the Pakistan Government ordered the construction of a new major base at Ormara, 200km west of Karachi. The Ormara Project was named "Jinnah Naval Base" after the founder of the nation. During the 1980s, the Pakistan Navy went through an unprecedented period of growth. It virtually doubled its surface fleet from nine main surface combatants in 1980 up to 16 by 1989, also acquiring sophisticated long-range anti-ship missiles and enhancing its maritime reconnaissance capabilities. This expansion process also proved the navy's ability to manage the added administrative, maintenance and operational loads. The submarine force currently consists of two HASTMAT class (AGOSTA type) built between 1976 and 1980, four HANGOR class (DAPHNE type) built between 1967 and 1970 and one KHALID class (AGOSTA 90B type), all of these boats being of French origin. The HASHMATs were modified in 1985 to fire Sub-HARPOON depth-to-surface anti-ship missiles. The HANGOR class boats, now close to obsolescence, will be replaced by three new AGOSTA 90B type submarines, first of which has already been inducted into Pakistan navy. The main assets of the naval air wing currently consist of two P-3C ORION and four improved Breguet ATLANTIC anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, four F-27 maritime surveillance and EW aircraft, plus thirteen ship-borne helicopters, comprising six Mk45 SEAKINGs, three LYNX ASW/attack types and four SA-319B ALOUETTE IIIs. The Marine Corps is the youngest force in the Pakistan Navy. With its establishment the navy has become capable of operations on four dimensions, i.e., on the sea with surface combatants, under the sea with submarines, in the air with naval aircraft and on the ground with the Marine Corps. The Pakistan Navy is moving from the old to new technologies at a rapid pace. The navy will have to consolidate the new weaponry, which will take time as this will involve a basic restructuring of personnel and logistics to suit future needs.

President Zardari to seek nuclear technology cooperation with Japan

President Asif Ali Zardari said Monday that since Japan was negotiating a deal with India to cooperate on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the similar cooperation should be extended to his country.
“If Japan is willing to cooperate with India in nuclear technology and (is) giving nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, I do not see any reason why we should not deserve the same,” Zardari said in an interview with the Japanese media in Islamabad ahead of his departure for a three-day visit to Japan, published in leading English newspapers here.
“I do not know what questions would be raised during discussion. It depends,” he said when asked if he will raise the question of nuclear technology cooperation during the visit.
President Zardari recognizes that nuclear power is a sensitive issue for the Japanese people and government.
Neither India nor Pakistan are signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and the talks between Japan and India have triggered an outcry from survivors of the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who fear such a deal will hamper global efforts to bring about a world without nuclear weapons.
Japanese firms, however, are keen to export nuclear power generation technology and related equipment to India, which plans to build 20 new nuclear power plants by 2020.
The President said Pakistan never wanted to go nuclear but it was forced to do so when arch rival India detonated a nuclear device in 1974 and again in 1998.

Libya protests: Gaddafi regime shaken by unrest

The 40-year rule of Col Muammar Gaddafi is under threat amid spiralling unrest throughout Libya.

Several senior officials - including the justice minister - have reportedly resigned after security forces fired on protesters in Tripoli overnight.
Witnesses say renewed protests have hit two suburbs of the capital.
In an earlier TV address, Col Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam conceded that the eastern cities of al-Bayda and Benghazi were under opposition control.
But he warned of civil war and vowed that the regime would "fight to the last bullet".
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in neighbouring Egypt, says Col Gaddafi has now lost the support of almost every section of society.
Reliable sources say Col Gaddafi has now left the capital, our correspondent adds.
'Hatred of Libya' After clashes in the capital overnight were suppressed by security forces, state TV reported a renewed operation had begun against opposition elements there.

Analysis

---

The situation in Libya is becoming increasingly confused and chaotic. There are several reports that Col Gaddafi has now left Tripoli, possibly for his hometown of Sirt or his desert base of Sabha.
In Tripoli itself, elements of the security forces are still on the streets, though the violence seems to be increasingly random.
During the night, there were more brutal attacks on demonstrators who had gathered, after rumours spread that Col Gaddafi had fled the country.
Hour by hour, there are reports of more defections. Almost all major tribal leaders seem to have joined the opposition, as well as important religious leaders and several senior Libyan ambassadors.
The east of the country is already almost entirely out of the hands of the government. Col Gaddafi's hold on power is becoming weaker by the hour.

"Security forces have started to storm into the dens of terror and sabotage, spurred by the hatred of Libya," the Libyan TV channel reported.

An eyewitness in Tripoli told the BBC that the suburbs of Fashloom and Zawiyat al-Dahmani had been cordoned off by security forces.
Protesters were out on the streets and flames and smoke could be seen rising from the area, the witness said.
Amid the turmoil on the streets, senior officials have also begun to desert the regime.
Justice Minister Mustapha Abdul Jalil quit the government because of the "excessive use of violence", the privately owned Quryna newspaper reported.
In New York, Libya's deputy ambassador to the UN denounced the Gaddafi government, accusing it of carrying out genocide against the people.
Libya's envoy to the Arab League, Abdel Moneim al-Honi, announced he was "joining the revolution", and its ambassador to India, Ali al-Essawi, told the BBC he was also resigning.
In another blow to Col Gaddafi's rule, two tribes - including Libya's largest tribe, the Warfla - have backed the protesters.
Meanwhile, two helicopters and two fighter jets from Libya landed in Malta.
The helicopter was said to be carrying French oil workers, and the fighter pilots were reported to have left Benghazi when an airbase was taken over by protesters.
'Decisive moment'

Mid-East unrest: Libya

• Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has led since 1969
• Population 6.5m; land area 1.77m sq km, much of it desert
• Population with median age of 24.2, and a literacy rate of 88%
• Gross national income per head: $12,020 (World Bank 2009)

Human Rights Watch says at least 233 people have died since last Thursday, though in his speech, Saif al-Islam insisted reports of the death toll had been exaggerated.

The US, UK and French governments are among those condemning the harsh treatment of protesters.
The US has ordered all families of embassy staff and all non-essential diplomats to leave the country.
Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, has close business links to Tripoli and voiced alarm at the prospect of the Gaddafi government collapsing.
"Would you imagine to have an Islamic Arab Emirate at the borders of Europe? This would be a very serious threat," said Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.
The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, described the protesters' demands as legitimate, calling it a "decisive moment in history" for Arab nations.
Oil price jumps Reports from several cities suggest the country is sliding out of the government's control:

• In Az-Zawiya, 40km (25 miles) west of Tripoli, witnesses say the police have fled, government buildings have been burnt down and the city is in chaos.
• Unconfirmed reports from the port city of Darnah say protesters are holding more than 300 workers hostage - many of them Bangladeshis.
• Several hundred Libyans stormed a South Korean-run construction site west of Tripoli, injuring at least four workers.
• In Benghazi, reports say 11 solders were killed by their commanding officers for refusing to fire on protesters.

The violence has helped to push up oil prices to their highest levels since the global financial crisis of 2008.
At one point, Brent crude - one of the main benchmarks on world oil markets - reached $105 (£65) a barrel.
International firms including BP, one of the world's biggest oil companies, are preparing to pull their staff out of Libya.