Afghanistan - One thousand USD at second !

So far the war in Afghanistan has cost 234,384,981,000 dollars, rising by approximately one thousand USD a second, every second of every day and night. More tragically, it has also had a tremendous human cost, both in terms of troops and civilians. So far the war in Afghanistan has cost 234,384,981,000 dollars, rising by approximately one thousand USD a second, every second of every day and night Is it for this that people are dying?

When the USA attacked Afghanistan in 2001, there was hardly a voice raised around the world in opposition. Some had their doubts about the legality of the issue but the connections of the Taliban regime with Al Qaeda and the wholly barbaric terrorist attack against the Twin Towers on 9/11 forced the Conspiracy Theorists for once to swallow their venom and nod whole-heartedly in support of the USA.

However, with mounting civilian casualties and ever-more dubious results on Read more

Europe and USA

Europe wants to increase its weight in the world.

The European Union needs the joint all-European army. The US administration is very negative about the idea. The question about the all-European army was pushed into the background after the Balkan war, when European armies were acting within the framework of KFOR and NATO. The USA believed that one needed to strengthen NATO, and everyone agreed. France was trying to show resistance to it, but after the nation became a full-fledged member of NATO on Sarkozy’s initiative, the French administration forgot about the creation of the all-European army too.

Things changed in 2009. The European Parliament established the Rapid Deployment Force of the European Union in 2009. Last week, officials of the Italian administration put forward a suggestion to look into the matter of the European Army again. Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini stated that Europe needed the army to deepen the European integration, optimize the spending on military operation in NATO and repulse possible threats. Read more

Russian exercises anger Georgia.

More than 8,000 troops are taking part in the manoeuvres near the Georgian border, which Georgia has called “a pure provocation from Russia.”
Last month Nato angered Russia by staging exercises in Georgia itself.
Although NATO and Russia have just agreed to resume military ties, analysts say the latest exercises are a clear warning from Moscow to the West.
Military experts in Moscow say the message is that the Caucasus is still part of Russia’s sphere of influence, says the BBCs correspondent in Moscow, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.
The war games are due to end on the day US President Barack Obama arrives in Moscow for a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Military sources are also quoted as saying the exercises would help to “cool down the fantasies of some warmongers,” in a clear reference to Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, whom Moscow blames for starting last year’s war, says our correspondent. Read more

Danish PM Rasmussen to become new NATO secretary general

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen will become NATO’s new secretary general, the alliance’s outgoing secretary general said Saturday.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, whose term of office expires July 31, said all NATO members’ presidents and premiers are convinced that Rasmussen is “the best choice for NATO.” Read more