Oppose Military aggression by counter-aggression NATO vs. CSTO
 

A devil to combat the devil President Obama will want NATO to work not just in poetry but in prose.

CSTO creates Russia-based collective rapid reaction force
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) members -- Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- to establish a rapid reaction unit. A draft agreement calling for each of the seven member states to provide one battalion for the formation of a collective rapid reaction force. NATO's expansion policy is seen by Moscow as a continuation of a Cold War attempt to surround and isolate Russia. Politically, Moscow sees the CSTO as a buffer against foreign interference in the affairs of Russia and the Central Asian states, which can be activated during tense periods

Russia US$ 70.2 BILLION in Active Military Personnel: 1,245,000 2008. Belarus Defense expenditures us 1.0 Billion Active Military Personnel, 79,000.Kazakhstan Defense expenditures in 2008, 1300 million dollars Active Military Personnel, 75000, Uzbekistan Defense expenditures in 2007 %902,4 million dollars Active Military Personnel 53,000. Tajikistan ($52.2 million) and Kyrgyzstan ($40.4 million). These expenditures amount to about 1.5% of the GDP of these countries on average. Defense and security in these countries are maintained on a sufficient level mostly due to Russia assistance and the presence of military bases of Russia on their territories (the 201st military base in Tajikistan and the Kant AF Base in Kyrgyzstan).
[url]http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=1808[/url]

In the last few years, the West has approached Russia with perhaps careless indifference to the impact of its policies on Russian perceived interests. Asking Russia sequentially to accept Western policies on NATO enlargement, Kosovo recognition, prospective ballistic missile deployment, Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty interpretations and on numerous other subjects, while perhaps individually justifiable in their own right, has cumulatively amounted to a process that encouraged resentment in Russia. As a result, while certain Western policies were advanced, some larger strategic interests were sometimes sacrificed

NATO has added new members seven times since first forming in 1949. NATO comprises twenty-six members: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. And since their accession on 29 March 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia [url]http://www.auswaertigesamt.de/diplo/en/Aussenpolitik/InternatOrgane/Nato/Nato.html#t[/url]

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the initiative would allow "operational reaction to threats", adding that the new unit would not be less powerful than NATO forces, AFP reported

A U.S. missile shield in Europe and attempts to expand it to the Caucasus and Central Asia is a threat to all CSTO member countries. "It is all a part of large-scale work aimed at creating a well-developed military infrastructure around Russia, Belarus and other CSTO countries," "It is a loaded gun...And I do not understand the assurances given by Western diplomats that it is not aimed against Russia," Ex Sectary CSTO Bordyuzha said [url]http://en.rian.ru/world/20070514/65444995.html[/url]

The collective rapid-reaction force to be created by a post-Soviet regional security bloc will be just as good as comparable NATO forces; Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the CSTO was open for cooperation with the United States in the fight against terrorism in Central Asia. The force will be used to repulse military aggression, conduct anti-terrorist operations, fight transnational crime and drug trafficking, and neutralize the effects of natural disaster .[url]http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090204/119984654.html[/url]

The rapid reaction force "is aimed at strengthening the military capacity of our organization," said Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian whose country currently chairs the CSTO.

The force will be permanently based in Russia and placed under a single command, with CSTO member countries contributing special military units. The decision to create a truly collective force with a permanent location and a united command would propel the alliance to a new level. The body was initially formed to counter the increasing influence of the western alliance and its possible expansion toward Russian borders. Lukashenkohttp://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/36833

The strengthening of the CSTO has been one of Russia's main foreign policy successes in recent years. The process was a long and difficult one: the treaty, signed in 1992 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, remained on paper for a long time. It was not until 2000, when Russia began regaining its influence in Central Asia, that the treaty took on a life of its own. In 2002, an organization with a permanent structure was set up on the basis of the treaty. This was a time when Russia and the United States vied for a leading role in Central Asia, where the U.S. set up its bases after 2001 to supply NATO's troops in Afghanistan. . [url]http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20090205/119991573.html[/url]

The rivalry ended with the U.S. pulling out of most Central Asian republics where it originally deployed its forces. The government of Kyrgyzstan has recently decided to scrap its agreement with the U.S. on the Manas Air Base. Manas should be closed to the U.S. In return, the Kremlin promised Kyrgyzstan US$ 2 billion in loans and US$ 150 million to construct a power station at Kambarata. Moscow will also evidently take over the base and deploy there, or so it claims, one division and one brigade as part of the CSTO, supposedly the equal of NATO’s forces. [url]http://www.cacianalyst.org/files/090211Analyst.pdf[/url]

“We're creating a fund of $10 billion. It will be like an air bag for those states whose situation becomes critical,” commented Belarusian President Aleksandr. economy; creating a CIS-wide fund to bail out distressed states; lending money to Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Belarus, establishing air, land, and naval bases in Abkhazia; signing an air defense agreement with Belarus that could provide for the stationing there of Iskander missiles with which to threaten Central Europe; and forcing Kyrgyzstan to evict the United States from Manas.
(sources BEYOND MANAS: RUSSIA’SGAME IN AFGHANISTAN)

Russia is ready to commit the 98th Airborne Division (Ivanovo) and the 31st Air-Assault Kutuzov 2nd Class Assault Landing Brigade (Ulyanovsk) Brigade to the force, which will provide security to all the CSTO states. ). Kazakhstan was to provide a brigade and become the second largest contributor.
The assigned units will train under a common program and conduct regular joint exercises. Russia is making two of its air force bases available for the joint training and exercises. Units assigned to the collective forces by member countries will receive compatible armaments, equipment, and communications systems from Russia. [url]www.rferl.org/content/Article/1105202.html[/url]

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): also called the (North) Atlantic Alliance is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium and the organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, famously stated the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.

The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defence spending, with the United States alone accounting for about half the total military spending of the world and the United Kingdom and France accounting for a further 10%..The military expenditures of the 25 members of NATO increased by $51 billion in 2007, reaching $855 billion, stated Jane's Defence Weekly (JDW) on Jan. 4 2008
[url]http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rpp/2008-2009/inst/dnd/dnd07-eng.asp[/url]

According to the figures, the European members of the organization provided 34 percent of the overall total while Canada provided 2 percent and the United States accounted for the rest. Most European countries, except Bulgaria, France, Greece, Turkey and the United States, failed to meet the NATO-mandated commitment to spare 2 percent of their national income for defense.
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The CSTO rapid reaction force, numbering now between 1,000 and 2,000 troops almost entirely from Russia and under Russian command, have been at the Kant military base in Kyrgyzstan since 2002.CSTO COUNTRIES will contribute one battalion each (totaling some 15,000 troops).

The first NATO military operation caused by the conflict in the former Yugoslavia was Operation Sharp Guard, which ran from June 1993–October 1996. It provided maritime enforcement of the arms embargo and economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first military action, shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft violating a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Operation Deny Flight, the no-fly-zone enforcement mission, had begun a year before, on 12 April 1993, and was to continue until 20 December 1995

NATO deployed a peacekeeping force, under Operation Joint Endeavor, first named IFOR and then SFOR, which ran from December 1996 to December 2004. Following the lead of its member nations, NATO began to award a service medal, the NATO Medal, for these operations.

On 24 March 1999 till 11 June 1999 NATO saw its first broad-scale military engagement in the Kosovo War, where it waged an 11-week bombing campaign, which NATO called Operation Allied Force, against what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in an effort to stop Serbian-led crackdown on Albanian civilians in Kosovo. Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo since 1999. At present 35 countries (including all NATO members apart from Iceland and Canada) take part, with a total of around 15,500 troops. With approximately 2,800 troops Germany is the largest troop contributor (status: early December 2007).

On the issue of Afghanistan on the other hand, the alliance showed greater unity: On 16 April 2003 NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked the first time in NATO’s history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area. Canada had originally been slated to take over ISAF by itself on that dateAt present 37 countries (including all NATO members) take part, with a total of around 40,000 troops. With approximately 3,300 troops Germany is the third-largest troop contributor [url]http://www.auswaertigesamt.de/diplo/en/Aussenpolitik/InternatOrgane/Nato/Nato.html#t[/url]

Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR in the Mediterranean since October 2001. At present 8 NATO nations and Ukraine take part, with a total of around 2000 troops. Germany's contribution consists on a rotating basis of around 240 troops (1 frigate) or one submarine; currently the submarine is on patrol with a crew of 28. INVOLVEMENT OF NON-NATO NATIONS Similarly, Israel signed an EOL on 16 October 2006, followed on 6 June 2007 by a Technical Memorandum of Understanding (TMOU) between CC-Mar Naples and the Israeli Navy, Albina, Morocco, Algeria too [url]www.shipping.eastlant.nato.int[/url]
The Russian Federation demonstrated its interest in the operation in 2004. In September 2006, RFS Pitliviy – and subsequently the RFS Ladniy - joined OAE after a brief period of Force Integration Training at sea. The operation has attracted significant interest from Russia as demonstrated by the request for NATO’s Maritime Commander in Naples to brief the Russia General Staff in Moscow in October 2007 and in April 2008. [url]http://www.jfcnaples.nato.int/JFCN_Operations/ActiveEndeavour/Endeavour.htm[/url]

NATO Training Mission Iraq NTM-I in Iraq since August 2004. Germany is fully active in NATO Staffs and bodies outside Iraq. A total of 138 troops from 17 nations (16 NATO members and Ukraine) have been posted to the Ar Rustamiyah Training Centre near Baghdad.

In Europe, 2009 will be the 60th anniversary of the Nato Alliance. Given the challenges NATO has confronted in Afghanistan, and the awkward consequences for its enlargement policy of the Russia–Georgia war, it would be wise if the opportunity were seized for Nato to do more work on two fronts. First, reinvigorating Nato’s strategic concept and placing the emphasis on the stabilisation missions that are at the core of its current activities. Second, developing a CSTO strategy that allows for more effective consultation and where possible, co-operation, with CSTO

In the aftermath of the Russia–Georgia conflict, the Russians announced plans for the most radical reform of the armed forces and making CSTO ,since the end of the Soviet Union. The army will be fully professionalised. The structure of the Armed Forces will change radically from divisions to more flexible brigades. This restructuring, if implemented jointly with the previously announced ambitious modernisation plans, could make Russian armed forces more capable to operate against modern threats and potentially better interoperable with western forces. [url]http://www.iiss.org/publications/military-balance/the-military-balance-2009/military-balance-2009-press-statement/[/url]

USA Military budget US$1,049,875,309,000 Active Military Personnel: 1,385,122 NATO military spending in 2008, US $713,100,000,000 dollars U.K.: $63.2 billion. Military personnel: 195,000, France: $61.53 billion, Military personnel: 354,000.Germany: $45.8 billion, Military Personnel 257,000. Italy: $40.05 billion, 298,000.Canada: $19.50 billion, Military: 65,000.Spain: $12.80billion, Military: 132,000.Turkey: $30.94 billion, Military Personnel: 514,000. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_the_European_Union[/url]

Netherlands: $12 billion, or $23,500 per head. Military: 51,000.Greece: $10.6 billion, . Military: 177,000.Poland: $11.80 billion. Military: 155,000.Norway: $7.5 billion. Military personnel: 28,000.Belgium: $4.9 billion, Military: 39,000.Denmark: $5 billion,. Military: 23,000.Portugal: $4.3 billion, Military: 45,000.Romania: $3 billion, Military: 93,000.Czech Republic: $2.71 billion, 57,000.Sweden Defense Budget: $7,000,000,000 Active Military Personnel 34,000

Hungary: $1.5 billion,. Military: 33,000.Slovakia: $1.48billion, .Military Personnel: 26,000.Bulgaria: $1.0 Billion, Military: 41,000.Slovenia: 706 million, Military: 9,000.Latvia: $672 million, Military: 6,000.Lithuania: $490 million, 13,510. Iceland Iceland has no standing military force; under a 1951 bilateral agreement, defense of Iceland remains a NATO commitment

Luxembourg: $359 million, Military: 1,600. Estonia: $487 million. Military: 5,700. Ukraine Defense Budget: $2,065,000,000, Active Military Personnel: 149,000 .Georgia. Defense Budget $2,500,000,000, Active Military Personnel: 17,500. [url]http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.php?showtopic=2518[/url]

In turn, raises the issue of NATO-CSTO ties. So far, NATO has been very reluctant to formalise any relationship with the organisation, fearing that such a step would seal Russian dominance of Central Asia.

By engaging with the CSTO, NATO could contribute to that organisation's evolution toward a more modern regional security arrangement. It would also reassure Moscow that the Alliance does not seek to displace Russia as a major player in Central Asia, which would not be in Western interests anyway.

Russia and the international community would also be well-advised to collaborate on stabilising Afghanistan - and in stemming the flow of drugs out of that country. Lastly, NATO should engage with CSTO.

In the near future, the CSTO will be collaborating with the EU on issues ranging from security, peacekeeping, and conflict management. It is better for the CSTO to be proactive than to be a passive partner.

NATO has not left with any other choice ,he must has to engage with CSTO in dialogue to safe him from a total military defeat in Afghanistan .CSTO and SCO can become a new military bloc against Nato and a new cold war start in Central Asia in near future. usman karim Based in Lahore Pakistan [email]lmno25@hotmail.com[/email]