Tag Archives: US
21 November 2013
The United States and Afghanistan have agreed on a bilateral security agreement that would allow for a lasting American troop presence through 2024. On the controversial issue of American searches of Afghan homes, the draft states that American counterterrorism operations will be intended to ‘complement and support’ Afghan missions. It underscores that Afghan forces will be in the lead and that any American military operations will be carried out ‘with full respect for Afghan sovereignty and full regard for the safety and security of the Afghan people, including in their homes.’
The draft also states that United States military personnel would be subject only to American military law, and that Afghanistan pledges not to turn them over to any international tribunals. It does, however, grant Afghanistan jurisdiction over contractors.
Source: The New York Times | Pact May Extend U.S. Troops’ Stay in Afghanistan
20 November 2013
The New York Times reports that the United States is considering plans to place the chemical components of the weapons on a barge at sea where they would be dissolved or incinerated.
Officials from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is operating in Syria to locate and identify the weapons, would monitor the destruction, which would be carried out following safety standards set by legislation in the United States and the European Union. By destroying the weapons in international waters, the effort would not require approval by any particular country.
Earlier, Albania and Norway turned down an appeal by the United States to destroy the weapons on its territory. A US official said that the United States has not given up on finding a country that would accept the 1,000 tons of precursors and other chemicals in Syria’s arsenal.
Source: The New York Times | Options Narrowed, U.S. Is Said to Weigh Destroying Syrian Chemicals at Sea
14 November 2013
An alliance of organisations and citizens, among others the Dutch Association of Defense Counsels, the Dutch Association of Journalists, the Internet Society Netherlands Chapter and Privacy First Foundation initiated legal proceedings against the Dutch state, demanding Dutch intelligent services to stop using United States National Security Agency (NSA) data.
The alliance said it is asking the Hague District Court on 27 November to ban the government from using intelligence data gathered by the NSA, using surveillance techniques that breach Dutch privacy laws. The case has been spurred by revelations that Dutch intelligence agencies have exchanged information with overseas agencies, including the NSA. Minister Plasterk confirmed that the NSA had collected information about 1.8 million Dutch phone calls in one month last year and acknowledged that the Dutch Intelligence Agency had supplied information to the NSA and vice versa.
Source: Miami Herald | Dutch government taken to court over NSA links
Source: Xinhua | Dutch Minister Plasterk sued over NSA spying
11 November 2013
The Chinese Foreign Ministry urges states to come back to the negotiating table, after the six-party talks between North and South Korea, China, the US, Russia, and Japan stalled in 2009. Since the end of talks, North Korea has conducted to nuclear tests and China has been lobbying to reopen negotiations in order to ensure security of the Korean Peninsula. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, stated ‘there’s a common interest and shared responsibility to find a resolution to the impasse.’
Source: UPI | China presses for talks with North Korea
4 November 2013
Negotiations held in Hobart, Tasmania by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources failed to reach an agreement to protect the ocean ecosystem in the Antarctic. The United States and New Zealand proposed a 500,000 square mile reserve in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Australia, France, and the European Union proposed a network of protected areas in the eastern Antarctic region. Both proposals were blocked due to the resistance of Russia, China, and Ukraine. Agreement between twenty-four members of the Commission and the European Union is required for the adoption of a proposal.
The resisting states argue that such reserves would cut off their access to fish stocks and undermine the fishing industries. However, fisheries scientists state that the reserves would help protect and restore the ecosystem from depletion caused by overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Yuri Onodera, climate adviser for Friends of the Earth Japan and attendee at the conference, stated, ‘once again, national interests and politics are a hurdle to the international interest of protecting the environment.’
Source: New York Times | Talks on Antarctic Marine Reserve Fail to Reach Agreement