Gates Blasts NATO, Questions Future of Alliance

BRUSSELS — In a stern rebuke, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Friday that the future of the NATO military alliance is at risk because of European penny-pinching and distaste for front-line combat. The United States won't carry the alliance as a charity case, the outgoing Pentagon chief said. 

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43351604/ns/world_news-europe/

Some NATO countries bristled, but Britain quickly and heartily agreed.
Gates' assessment that NATO could face "a dim if not dismal" future echoes long-standing concern of U.S. policymakers about European defense spending. But rarely, if ever, has it been stated so directly by such a powerful American figure, widely respected in the United States and internationally.
The remarks, at the close of Gates' final overseas trip, reflect a new reality of constrained American finances and a smaller global reach.
Earlier in the week Gates played "bad cop" to U.S. President Barack Obama's good, criticizing Germany's abstention from the air campaign in Libya two days after Obama lavished an award and fancy White House dinner on visiting Chancellor Angela Merkel.
But Gates spoke for the Obama administration, and his warning Friday was aimed squarely at Europe's priorities.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfI0dtgXu0A&feature=player_embedded
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says America's military alliance with Europe, which has been the cornerstone of U.S. security policy for six decades, faces a "dim, if not dismal" future. (June 10)

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Chinas stealth fighter based on US technology - Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8277090/Chinas-stealth-fighter-based-on-US-technology.html

China's new stealth fighter is based on US technology acquired by Chinese spies during the 1999 Kosovo War, according to Croatia's former military chief of staff.

By David Eimer in Beijing 5:39PM GMT 23 Jan 2011

China unveiled the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter during a visit to Beijing by Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, this month. The timing of its maiden flight was regarded as a deliberate reminder by China of its growing military might, and caused alarm amongst its Asian neighbours.

Now, the Admiral who was Croatia's chief of staff during the Kosovo War has said he believes that China formulated the technology for its J-20 jet from an American F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter that was shot down over Serbia in March 1999.

"At the time, our intelligence reports told of Chinese agents criss-crossing the region where the F-117 disintegrated, buying up parts of the plane from local farmers," Admiral Davor Domazet-Loso said. "We believe the Chinese used those materials to gain an insight into secret stealth technologies."

The Nighthawk was the world's first stealth fighter, planes that are almost invisible to radar and so able to operate over enemy territory with near impunity.

US cannot accept China military power: state media

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_cannot_accept_China_military_power_state_media_999.html


by Staff Writers Beijing (AFP) Jan 7, 2011 China will eventually have a military powerful enough to compete with the United States, state media said Friday ahead of the visit of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.The claim in a newspaper editorial followed reports that China had completed a prototype of a stealth fighter and after a top US military official said Beijing was stepping up efforts to deploy a "carrier-killer" missile system.
"Whether the reported new weapons are true or not, in the long run, China will own first-class weapons that are capable of competing with the US war machine," said the Global Times, known for its nationalist tone.
Gates arrives in China on Sunday to smooth over tense defence relations between the two countries -- one year after Beijing cut military ties with Washington in protest against US arms sales to rival Taiwan.
"Apparently, the US is not ready to treat China as a major power. They cannot accept the fact that China will sooner or later possess a first-class military," the editorial said.
"They are too used to the old power structure, in which China and other developing countries have long been treated unfairly."

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Iran starts "biggest" air defense war games

Image via Wikipediahttp://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101116/wl_nm/us_iran_defence_drill
The website of Iran's English-language Press TV said the five-day war games were being held near nuclear facilities and included tests of long-range missiles.
On Sunday, a senior commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards said land forces had carried out military drills near Iran's nuclear facilities "exactly like real combat."
Western countries suspect Iran's atomic work is a cover for a nuclear weapons programme. Tehran denies this, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.
Israel, which says a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence, and its ally the United States have refused to rule out pre-emptive strikes against Iran, but Defense Secretary Robert Gates argued strongly against the military option on Tuesday.
"The large-scale military maneuvers ... will improve readiness to confront possible threats to Iran's air space and the very populated, vital and nuclear centers," Ahmad Mighani, head of an air force unit that responds to threats to Iran's air space, was quoted by state TV as saying.
Iran has repeatedly announced advances in its military capability to show it is ready to respond to military aggression.
Some Western officials suspect Iran is developing more sophisticated missiles and carrying out well-publicized missile tests so that it can deliver a nuclear weapon.

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Clinton: Iran's attitude leaves us no choice

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clipped from www.ynetnews.com US Secretary of State meets European counterparts to discuss additional round of sanctions on Iran. US senators send letter to president, say military action could be inevitable Earlier, Clinton met with the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany and Italy to discuss Iran's nuclear program. Some sources reported that the five discussed the latest developments in the Iranian arena and the possibility of implementing another round of sanctions. In a letter to President Obama, senators claimed military action in Iran might be needed, while members of the House of Representatives urged Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to "support Israel's sovereign right to take whatever action necessary for its own defense." "It will only serve to further isolate Iran's government in the world and from it's people," White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters.