World Security Network reporting from Berlin in Germany, March 21, 2011

Dear Cavkic Salih,
 

"What about Gaddafi and his family clan? The international community will have to bite in the sour apple offering him an exit in half-dignity."

Military efforts are now directed against Col. Gaddafi by 11 states including the U.S., France, Great Britain as well as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates under UN Resolution 1973 which was a sensation, as it made possible all measures necessary for the protection of the civilian population.

China and Russia abstained out of consideration for the decision of the Arab League – and their oil interests. The government in Tripoli has changed course and become nervous, now that it is under attack by the most powerful coalition on earth. It cannot win.

The UN resolution was a remarkable success for France and a disgrace for German Foreign Minister Westerwelle, who chose not to vote with the USA, the UK, France and Lebanon for a no-fly zone, and instead chose to abstain. Thereby, Germany has become isolated after torpedoing a good idea of joint EU foreign policy, and is even applauded by Col. Gaddafi. Beirut and Tehran supported the no-fly zone but not Berlin – here, the strategies seems to have turned upside down.

What should the USA, the EU and progressive forces do now in the next phase of the conflict ? What does an action plan for Libya 2011 look like?

An active structuring of North African policy is decisive, not merely running behind events or holding things at a distance and doing nothing. “We have to shape and not only adapt to reality", repeated my mentor and Pentagon strategist Dr. Fritz Kraemer again and again. That is not a lesson for the French President or his brilliant intellectual master-mind Bernard-Henri Lévy but rather the German Foreign Minister.

Here are several ideas for an action plan for Libya 2011:

1. A no-fly zone and air-strikes are two of many necessary ideas and actions that should be developed and implemented in a “Master Plan Libya 2011" to assemble a larger picture of progress. We need a new double strategy of power and reconciliation, hard and soft factors of peacemaking including a new democratic fundament and economic growth.

2. EU Member States should follow France’s lead and now recognize the the Interim Transitional National Council of Libya in Benghazi diplomatically, but only under the condition that they clearly and irrevocably recognize the UN Charta, namely the protection of human rights, religious freedom and freedom of the press in an official declaration. Where is this declaration? Who will demand it? Neither France nor any other EU state can afford - as in 1979 with the naive support of the Iranian revolution - to support the birth of another dictatorship out of the ruin of a fading dictator. Have a look into the website and founding declaration of the Interim Transitional National Council of Libya which does not name political ideas or the UN Charta and human rights.

3. The rebels’ leaders should form a parliamentary assembly. The benchmark for this should be the free “Eesti Komitee” of my friend Tunne Kelam from 1990 in which, in a counter-parliament to the Supreme Soviet of Estonia, the smallest republic of the USSR, the boundaries were set for real reform and the Estonian democracy. Kelam now sits in the European Parliament and on the advisory board of our World Security Network Foundation. At that time I led his International Advisory Board. The EU should support this committee. As many signatures as possible should be gathered for an independent Libya. In Estonia more than 700.000 Estonians signed out of a population of only 1.4 million.

4. The EU should create a “EU-Libya Future Fund” with an initial amount of Euro 100 million. Libya, a rich country, should contribute one billion Euro. A development plan must create jobs and prosperity for all through a social market economy.

5. The billions of dollars in frozen assets must flow into transparent development funds. Until now all Libyan deposits have been concealed and are untraceable.

 

Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann in the Old City of Tripoli in Libya: "An active structuring of North African policy is decisive, not merely running behind events or holding things at a distance and doing nothing."

6. A constitutional convention should establish a free democratic order, oriented towards Europe and the UN Charta and the protection of human rights and dignity.

7. A “Libyan Truth and Reconciliation Commission” should be created following the example of South Africa, which should investigate all incidents of the past and bring together opponents around one table. Reconciliation with Gaddafi supporters must also be included in the political manifesto in order to avoid a civil war. Most medium level current civil servants must, for the time being, remain in their posts in order to avoid chaos like in Iraq. All contracts with foreign businesses must remain in force.

8. American special aircrafts should transmit radio programs for a free Libya as was done in Iraq and Afghanistan.

9. The UN should invite Libyan representatives to permanent negotiations with various working groups.

10. As with Egypt, it is critical that the generals and security forces are drawn to the side of the reformers – this led to the transition in the USSR, GDR and eastern European nations. Different tribes should be integrated into the peace process.

11. And what about Gaddafi and his family clan? The international community will have to bite in the sour apple offering him an exit in half-dignity.

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi has also gone too far. Within a matter of days he ruined his reputation as a potential modern successor, in spite of the fact that he is consulted along each step by his New York PR agency. The days of self-aggrandizing rulers are over.

Libya has billions of dollars in oil and gas income. However, one sees very little when it comes to investment in the country.

It seems that over decades someone must have hidden away many billions of dollars.

If Gaddafi and his family reveal all of their wealth leaving it to the state, they should be permitted to retain an “allowance” of USD 100 to 300 million.

Now the Libyan people must be very careful that other persons do not claim the rest of the national wealth for themselves. Libya should immediately create a transparent state fund model like that realized by Singapore as a best practice example.


Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann
President and Founder
World Security Network Foundation

March 21, 2011

---

APPEAL TO THE DEFENDERS OF THE TRUTH ABOUT THE GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

M.Sci. Marjan Hajnal

March 17, 20011

I have been following with great dismay the intensification of attacks on Institute for Research of Genocide Canada (IRGC) and Congress of North American Bosniaks (CNAB) through various channels including the internet and telephone threats towards members of these two organizations. Along with diplomatic pressure aimed at redrawing the borders of internationally recognized Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a multiethnic democratic state of equal constituent ethnic groups and other minorities, a synchronized and organized attack campaign is being carried out by a fascist and neo-Nazi lobby that operate in the territory of Canada and the United States. The aim of these retrograde post-war forces is to jeopardize the existence of both IRGC and CNAB, through various media smear campaigns and even directly threatening their leadership and members. The attacks were particularly intensified after the government of Canada’s decision to forbid entry to genocide denier Srdja Trifkovic who was scheduled to give a lecture to students of Serbian nationality in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia.
It is regrettable that these young people consciously or unconsciously follow a policy that initially indoctrinated their grandparents, parents, and now their own generation, guiding them to a dismissive attitude toward the genocide committed against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Muslims, and all other ethnic groups who consider Bosnia and Herzegovina an irreplaceable and indivisible motherland, with its unique history, cultural tradition, languages, and its sovereign place on the geopolitical map of Europe and the world.
Only the enemies of humanity and civilization can deny that Bosnia was on many different occasions exposed to genocidal conquest and devastation. On all these occasions the enemies attacked the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its sovereign people. Bosnian rich history is full of examples of how its brave people, regardless of religious orientation, bravely resisted all invaders, and that the never did any attempt of assimilation have permanent success.

General symbol and character of all these conquests is genocide.
According to the definition of genocide registered in 1948 at the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, this uncivilized act means any deliberate, systematic violent action aimed at destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, religious, or national group, with the intention to kill, persecute, dislocate, or steal their movable and immovable property. This definition includes the terror and deprivation of liberty, torture of prisoners, torture and abuse of the weak and defenseless people.

The war against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period 1992 - 1995, and particularly against the Bosnian Muslims, officially known as Bosniaks, was conducted as a classic genocidal war. The city of Sarajevo was subjected to genocidal blockade, siege, constant artillery and sniper fire from the breakaway parts of the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) joined by Chetnik (Serb ultranationalist) paramilitary formations that did not care that the city was also inhabited by a significant number of Serb people. All citizens of Sarajevo were abandoned hostages, victims of a pathological obsession to kill utilizing all irrational forms of destruction. It was the same case with all other cities such as Visegrad, Foca, Kljuc, Bihac, Bijeljina, Banja Luka, Prijedor, and Srebrenica. Croatia joined in the destruction of Bosnia as a hostile party interested in the forced division of the state along ethnic lines, as it aspired for centuries before to detach a part of BiH territory. Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a puppet Nazi state, proved its genocidal brutality during the Second World War. After the cease-fire during the epoch of socialism, irredentist ambitions of “Herceg-Bosna” and “Republika Srpska” escalated to the level of the mass pogroms. No reasonable person can deny that their war machine functioned as a genocidal system

It is therefore of paramount importance, for the purpose of defense of truth, morality, justice, positive law and the overall achievements of civilization, that IRGC and CNAB are protected, and the United States and Canada prosecutes to the fullest extent of the law, all perpetrators who violently threaten and intimidate the members of both organizations. Furthermore, this critical moment is an opportunity to coordinate efforts with other countries to start forming similar institutes who will sanction all forms of genocidal actions and to initiate the arrest of the perpetrators, regardless of where they are or who they are. There are more than 20,000 such individuals who are free to roam and incite genocide.
I welcome the decision of the Government of Canada to allow the establishment and operation of IRGC, as well as the decision to indiscriminately refuse entrance and residence to all those who generate, propagate and spread national, religious and racial intolerance and hatred.

As man devoted to studying the phenomenon of humanity and the sources and causes of inhumanity, I invite all humane people to join the defense of the truth about Bosnia. In the name of all the victims of war in the world, it is the duty of every individual to choose only the voice of their conscience. In particular, I call deluded members of religious communities, political and national associations, to resist manipulation, warmongering aspirations and to abandon allegiances to the sick self-proclaimed national leaders. These are not true leaders, but charismatic destructionists who, during their personal megalomaniac regressions, are guiding the entire society to the brink of collapse. It is necessary to identify them everywhere as opponents of humanity and the enemies of their people, and all others nations. The courts of history will sooner or later reveal them as the pillars of shame and join them to those who have already been identified as members of the legion of terror and violent death of innocent people. Genocide must be actively confronted.

Philosopher, author, humanist
pre-war resident of Sarajevo
M.Sci. Marjan Hajnal
Israel

March 17, 20011

---

World Security Network reporting from Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan, March 09, 2011

Dear Cavkic Salih,

Visiting the Regional Command North of ISAF in Camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan and the soldiers of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) stationed there, you get a good impression of the achievements and professionalism of the Germans at the front and the improved situation in the north.

With about 5,000 soldiers in Afghanistan - which have suffered 47 casualties since 2001- Germany supplies the third largest force after the U.S. (90,000) and the British (9,500 ISAF plus special forces 11.000 total). It is responsible as lead nation for the ISAF Regional Command North, a region with 8 to 10 million people and 162,000 square kilometers, an area half the size of Germany.

They contribute two Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT - in Kunduz and Feyzabad) and a Provincial Advisory Team in Taloqan. Other PRTs in the north are under Swedish (Mazar-e-Sharif), Hungarian (Pol-e Khomri) and Norwegian command (Meymaneh) with a new one planned in Jowzjan Province which will be led by Turkey.

MajGen Fritz Bundeswehr in Afghanistan

ISAF gained greater freedom of operation through the augmentation of more forces and the buildup of the two strong Task Forces in Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif with 650 to 700 fighting Germans each and a high rate of operational improvements which involved all 16 nations and the civilian planning as well.

The German Air Force operates the important airport in Mazar-e-Sharif which has now become one of the largest airfields and ISAF bases in Afghanistan. In April 2010 the Luftwaffe introduced two brand-new Heron drones here which are flown via remote control by German officers. They can operate 24 hours in the air and identify targets for ground forces in real time operations. More than 300 missions have been flown successfully with this futuristic flying bird.

After the transfer of command from Major General Hans-Werner Fritz on February 24, 2011, RC North is now under the command of Bundeswehr Major General Markus Kneip with U.S. Army Brigadier General Sean P. Mulholland as his deputy. They are responsible for nine provinces stretching 900 kilometers east to west and 400 kilometers north to south. Included are 14 cities (like Mazar-e-Sharif or Kunduz) and 9,000 small villages. It borders five neighboring countries: Turkmenistan, Uskebistan, Taschkistan, China and Pakistan (see RC North in Facebook for more details).

The command controls 10,400 soldiers from 16 different countries, including 4,500 U.S. and German troops each and 1,400 troops from smaller nations like Croatia, Turkey, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway or Hungary, who are fighting shoulder to shoulder in this international ISAF operation.

The comradeship between so many nations, including several hundred women, is as impressive as their willingness to take on the burden of 4 to 12 month-long residence in boring camps or dangerous outside patrols. After all improvements in the past accommodation are still very basic, internet use as the gateway to friends and family is very expensive and the food is of such low quality that any worker in a normal factory would rebel against his cafeteria management. Even more care and funds have to be put forth in order to make the stay of soldiers who risk their lives for us all in their camps as comfortable as possible.

On the Afghan side, 10,000 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA), 13,000 from the paramilitary Afghan National Police (ANP) and 3,500 Afghan Border Police (ABP) add up to more than 36,000 troops fighting against the insurgents. Together with ISAF they are a Combined Team North (CTN) fighting the insurgents.

The north is important for ISAF as the main supply route to Kabul now proceeds via the mountain roads of the Kunduz-Baghlan corridor (instead of the unsafe Khyber Pass from Pakistan). In addition, this area produces plenty of food for Afghanistan.

Under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Rainer Glatz, the commander of the German Operations Command in Potsdam, and a leading expert on Afghanistan for the last 10 years, the Germany Armed Forces have sent their best generals, officers, corporals, elite units and new equipment to the front at the Hindukush which shows the priority of this years-long engagement for the government in Berlin and its commitment for success. They are supported by more representatives from the Foreign Office and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development which are now better integrated into the planning process.

Until now, each year a stable majority in the German Federal Parliament, including the Social Democrats now in opposition, have voted to extend the mandate for the forces; nevertheless, the majority of the public wants to bring the soldiers back home.

The public sees the picture in Afghanistan gloomier than the soldiers on the ground.

The insurgency is estimated to comprise just below 3,000 forces. They include not only Taliban, but also frustrated locals, criminals and few foreigners, all elements fighting the government control.

BrigGen Mulholland about insurgents

The fighting intensity is much lower than in the south due to the fact that the North is dominated by Tadjiks and Uzbeks. They had fought the Taliban even during their regime in the 1990s combined in the strong Northern Alliance.

"Not every Pashtun is a Taliban, but all Taliban are Pashtuns" is an argument you can hear from many sides, and reflects the close link to this largest ethnic group in Afghanistan which dominates the south. In the north, you will find only six Pashtun pockets with approximately one million Pashtuns which equals only ten percent of the population.

The insurgents cannot win or dominate the north, but stick to improvised explosive devices (IED) attacks and hold only several smaller parts which are being cleaned now step by step.

They are not popular, as most people long for education, jobs and peace.

MajGen Fritz: peace and education needed

A dramatic attack by an Afghan ANA soldier killed three Bundeswehr soldiers on February 18, 2011, but their comrades keep cool under fire, professional and dedicated to fulfilling their tasks. The mood in Camp Marmal is good and calm. Most soldiers would like to continue their duty to further stabilize Afghanistan and not to have lost the lives of their comrades in vain.

Goodbye to fallen German soldiers

Change of command in ISAF RC North in Mazar-e-Sharif February 24, 2011. From left to right: U.S. Lieutenant General David Rodriguez (Commander of ISAF Joint Command), departing RC North Commander Major General Hans-Werner Fritz, Lieutenant General Rainer Glatz (Commander German Forces Command Potsdam), and new RC North Commander Major General Markus Kneip.

Only in 2009 did ISAF develop a new "Partnering Concept" based on the understanding that the Afghan Security Forces must be increased, trained, mentored and integrated into joint operations so that the Afghans become able to take care of their own security alone in the coming years.

There is a three-step approach to this goal: ISAF is the sword to help to clear insurgent territory as support for ANA troops which is finally held by the ANP.

Planning and implementation are coordinated with mentors in ANA from ISAF. In RC North, this works well from the 209th ANA Corps level down to the battalion(Kandak). All officers agree that partnering is without alternative, even after the rampage by an Afghan soldier that killed three German comrades.

Colonel Juergen Joachim von Sandrart, Senior Mentor of the 209th ANA Corps in Camp Shaheen, - which will become one of the largest barracks in Afghanistan, including the 209th ANA Corps, the 10th US Mountain Brigade, an engineer school and some Bundeswehr units - states that the cooperation with the Afghans is working well and that there is continuing confidence.

One has to have understanding for a different mentality and the rapid increase of this Corps from only 2,500 strong in 2008 plus 4,000 in 2009 and another 4000 in 2010 to now approx. 10,000. Newly won recruits stay only eight months before they see their first mission, for which they receive $200 a months. An additional handicap is the recruits' lack of education; many can neither read nor write. And that's the reason for a huge literacy program run by the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan where right now tens of thousands of Afghan soldiers and policemen undergo intensive training in order to better perform their duties. This applies particularly to leadership training. Partnering has proven effective in both of the OPS mission of the last months.


Brig. Gen. Zalmai Wesa , commander of the 209th ANA Corps to which the assassin belonged, apologized to the families and friends of the German Army soldiers on WSN TV.

BrigGen Wesa on the 209th ANA Corps

He points out that the event saddened his men and does not correspond to the Afghan codex with respect to befriended soldiers.

The new integrated counterinsurgency strategy of ISAF which focuses on the protection of civilians, works better now as does the coordination with the civilian authorities. ISAF and the Afghan Security Forces are winning land and increased support of the people. Of utmost importance is to make sure that the successes of the last months are made "irreversible", as RC North commander Maj. Gen. Hans-Werner Fritz told WSN TV:

Maj Gen Fritz on progress

In Operation "Sher Chesan" significant terrain could be secured in the Chahar Darreh District in late 2010.

Another important success of the new joint concept of ISAF, ANA and ANP was operation "Jadid" in November 2010 at Pol-e-Khomri in Baghlan Province, where for the first time ISAF was able to clear and ANA and ANP able to hold a larger former insurgent territory. Now Combined Team North is moving to the next stage, the "build phase".

A second OPS offensive named "Nawroz" started days ago to clear the road and valley near Qandahari. ISAF needs to fight for the freedom of movement on this important highway south to Kabul.

More joint operations will certainly follow later this year to oust the insurgents from the important Highway 1 in the west, which could not be finished due to insurgents' activities.

The sending of 5,000 U.S. troops to RC North only eight months ago was critical for the success of the ISAF forces which were underresourced until then. They are needed for helicopter support as well as medical emergencies and additional firepower. The Germans are very pleased to have the Americans at their side and decorated their courageous medical evacuation team with the highest military award. The cooperation works very well.

BrigGen Mulholland: Americans and Germans one team

The U.S. forces are building a huge additional complex in Camp Marmal and have already stationed 2,500 soldiers there. It shows that they see the north as essential for the U.S.-Afghan peace strategy. Here the Insurgency is weakest and a victory could be denied to them for many years to come following 2014. The airfield is key and could remain as a large U.S. base with a bilateral agreement.

At the NATO summit in Lisbon in 2010 Germany declared her commitment until the end of 2014 (the transition target date), but might reduce troop levels "according to the situation on the ground" starting at the end of this year. After 2014, the focus will be on training and civilian support.

Any reduction should be "not calender driven, but based on conditions on the ground", demanded ISAF Spokesman Brigadier General Josef Blotz as well as retired NATO general Egon Ramms in a WSN TV interview.

Gen Egon Ramms on a civilian surge 2010

Berlin has doubled its funding for civilian projects to now €430 million per year. Germany spent €1.2 billion for Afghanistan between 2002 to 2009 and will release another €1.6 billion within the next four years. In the north, main projects are the central hospital (580 beds) and the civilian airport in Mazar-e-Sharif, told Kai Henning, the Senior Civilian Representative in RC North. In OPS Jadid he had spend USD 6,1 million for 77 small projects in a short time to show progress to the local people who are involved in the selection process and get jobs as well. In total, 250 civilians from Germany and 400 from the US work in the north. The cooperation with the Senior Civilian Representative and ISAF is excellent and has become more efficient.

MajGen Fritz: civilian cooperation improved

In the headquarters of the 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army. From left: Col. Jürgen Joachim von Sandrart (Senior mentor), the corps commander BrigGen. Zalmai Wesa, Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann, and Deputy Corps Commander BrigGen. Sana ul-Haq Bader.

On the ground, the real picture in North Afghanistan is brighter than reflected in the overly pessimistic media and the public. The German Armed Forces' "mission impossible" seems to become a possible task now if given more time for implementing success.

*This newsletter is dedicated to thank Georg Missulia, Konstantin Menz and Georg Kurat for their engagement and sacrifice for a better world for the people of Afghanistan and us all. These three German Bundeswehr soldiers were killed on February 18, 2011, at the outpost 'OP North' in the Regional Command North of ISAF in Afghanistan by a soldier of the Afghan National Army in a rampage.


Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann
President and Founder
World Security Network Foundation










 

see the new Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect Project here

---

ARCHIVE
- february - 2011 - january - 2011 - september - october 2010 - january - july 2010 - november - december 2009 - september -  october 2009 - june - july 2009 - january - may 2009 - november - december 2008	- september - october 2008 - july -augustus 2008 - january - jun 2008 - december 2007 - november 2007 - october 2007 - Eenheid-Unité-Einheit - 140.000 handtekeningen - 140.000 signatures

WHAT DOES THE EU SAY ABOUT THIS? EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION
DENMARK: WHAT A SHAME This happens in Denmark