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Russlands nye angrepsubåt er så stillegående at den blir beskrevet som «et sort hull».

De siste dagene har amerikanske og allierte satellitter fulgt med på proviantering og andre forberedelser til ubåten K-561 «Kazan» sitt neste tokt i nord. Kazan er nummer to i Jasen-klassen og en kraftig forbedring av den første, K 560 Severodvinsk, som ble sjøsatt i 2013.

Amerikanske, britiske og franske ubåter er fordelt rundt i Nord-Atlanteren. Amerikanske P-8 Poseidon-fly og norske Orion overvåkningsfly har planlagt koordinerte tokt over ulike områder i nord. De norske etterretningsskipene MS Marjata og MS Eger er sendt nordover. Läs artikel

While the US-Turkey tussle could be a major stumbling block before NATO, there is another vital factor that seems to have been glossed over by the western military alliance.

China was a major focus of the NATO Summit held in Brussels last month. The concluding statement of the summit noted, “China’s stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security.”

Pointing to the rapidly increasing military capabilities of China, NATO chief Jens Stoltenburg warned that China was “coming closer” to NATO in military and technological terms.

In its last Strategic Concept issued in 2010, China did not even find a mention. In order to counter China, NATO seems to prioritize cohesion and unity to foster the political strength in the alliance. Läs artikel

Syria rocks under continued US bombing and reels under withering US sanctions. But why? Why are we still not friends with Syria?

Bashar al-Assad has long courted a relationship with the west. He has long been willing to act in a way that would make friendship possible. In his 2009 article entitled ”Syria Calling,” Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh says that then Senator John Kerry, who was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and who had just met with Assad, said that Assad ”wants to engage with the West….Assad is willing to do the things he needs to do in order to change his relationship with the United States.” Hersh says that Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the ruler of Qatar, told him that ”Syria is eager to engage with the West.”

Amongst the many ”things he needed to do,” the US would want him to prove himself in at least five areas: 9/11, ISIS, chemical weapons, Israel and Iran. He proved himself in all five. Läs artikel

Daniel Hale, an active-duty Air Force intelligence analyst, stood in the Occupy encampment in Zuccotti Park in October 2011 in his military uniform. He held up a sign that read “Free Bradley Manning,” who had not yet announced her transition. It was a singular act of conscience few in uniform had the strength to replicate. He had taken a week off from his job to join the protestors in the park. He was present at 6:00 am on October 14 when Mayor Michael Bloomberg made his first attempt to clear the park. He stood in solidarity with thousands of protestors, including many unionized transit workers, teachers, Teamsters and communications workers, who formed a ring around the park. He watched the police back down as the crowd erupted into cheers. But this act of defiance and moral courage was only the beginning. Läs artikel

Sverige är ett av åtta länder som bidrar med soldater i Task Force Takuba, den franskledda insatsen i Mali. Därför marscherade svenska soldater på onsdagen längs Champs Elysées i Paris under firandet av den franska nationaldagen.

– Det är stort att få vara en del av detta och ännu större att vi fick äran att gå först i paraden, säger överstelöjtnant Miguel Riera, kontingentschef.

Soldater ur Task Force Takuba fick hedersplatsen som första förband i paraden, därefter följde närmare 5 000 soldater ur de franska väpnade styrkorna. Det gjordes en överflygning av franska flygvapnet och uppvisningsenheten La Patrouille de France flög paraden och färgade himlen i trikolorens färger.

–  Våra svenska soldater har fått beröm av fransmännen såväl för insatsen som för genomförandet av paraden, säger Miguel Riera. Läs pressmeddelande

”Det är för Sverige och övriga EU mycket viktigt att Iran inte lämnar JCPOA. Instex är en viktig del av EU:s gemensamma ansträngningar för att bevara kärnenergiöverenskommelsen.”

Så löd UD:s pressmeddelande den 24 september 2020, som förklarade varför Sverige och Finland just blivit två av de nio statliga aktieägarna i Instex.[…]

Den svenska handeln med Iran har exempelvis nästintill upphört. 2017, innan USA:s uttåg, var Sveriges export till Iran 4,3 miljarder kronor. Förra året uppgick den till ynka 229 miljoner. Så ser det ut runtom i Europa.  Teheran har alltså blivit av med de ekonomiska incitamenten för att följa avtalet.

Ingen bör därmed vara förvånad över uppgifterna om att regimen, nu med den nya ultrakonservativa presidenten Ebrahim Raisi, återupptagit utvecklingen av landets kärnprogram. […]

Här kan faktiskt Sverige göra en insats. Med tanke på våra starka historiska handelsband till Iran, att 100.000 personer med iranskt ursprung bor här och att vi alltså tillhör Instex ägare borde det vara regeringens plikt att se till att Instex börjar fungera som det är tänkt.

Att se till så att svenskar och européer börjar handla med Iran igen. Läs ledaren

Sverige ratificerade konventionen om avskaffande av alla former av rasdiskriminering 1971. Enligt konventionen ska anslutna stater:
med vederbörligt beaktande av de principer som omfattas av den allmänna förklaringen om de mänskliga rättigheterna – olagligförklara och förbjuda organisationer samt organiserad propaganda och all annan propaganda som främjar och uppmanar till rasdiskriminering, samt förklara deltagande i sådana organisationer eller i sådan verksamhet som brottslig gärning som är straffbar enligt lag.

I stället för att införa sådant förbud ändrade Sverige bestämmelsen om hets mot folkgrupp. Sverige har därefter vid flera tillfällen mottagit påpekanden från den internationella kommittén mot rasdiskriminering om bristen på organisationsförbud i svensk rätt. Sverige har hittills varje gång svarat att man anser sig följa konventionen. Särskilt bestämmelserna om hets mot folkgrupp och olaga diskriminering i brottsbalken (BrB), har Sverige hävdat, gör det i praktiken omöjligt för en rasistisk organisation att verka lagligt i landet. Sverige anser också att konventionen inte ålägger staterna en ovillkorlig plikt att införa organisationsförbud.

Frågan om Sverige ändå borde införa ett sådant organisationsförbud har utretts vid något halvdussin tillfällen. Vid ett tillfälle har lagrådet uttalat att det finns goda skäl för tolkningen att Sverige som ansluten till konventionen måste införa organisationsförbud. Men varje gång har skälen mot förbud ansetts väga tyngre än skälen för ett förbud. Läs artikel

This weekend saw the conclusion of NATO’s Sea Breeze 2021 naval exercise in the Black Sea. According to information released by the Brussels-based alliance, the 13 day exercise included roughly 5,000 troops, 32 ships, 40 aircraft and 18 special operations and dive teams from 32 countries.

The drill commenced only days after the British navy’s HMS Defender was fired upon by Russian aircraft as it made its way through the waters off the coast of Crimea in an ostensible show of support for Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty.

Meantime, Ukrainian, Polish, Lithuanian and American ground forces will convene in western Ukraine for another military exercise. According to Reuters, the drill, “Three Swords-2021,” will involve “more 1,200 servicemen and more than 200 combat vehicles and will last from 17 to 30 July at Yavoriv training ground in Lviv region.”

The center of the action, Yavoriv, is where the US and Ukraine operate a joint military base called the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine base. It might be worth asking: How many Americans know that we have a military base in Ukraine? How many know that American taxpayer dollars account for 90 percent of foreign military aid to Ukraine? Läs artikel

The Afghan peace talks have been faced with a deadlock over the last few months. Violence has remained high in the country in the last two months following the start of the withdrawal of US and coalition forces from Afghanistan. In this interview, TOLOnews’ Yaser Abrar speaks to Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, about a wide range of issues from ongoing conflicts, to the peace process and other current topics. […]

Mr. Mujahid, hello and welcome to the program.
Mujahid: Hello to you and to your listeners and readers and watchers. Thank you for the opportunity.

TOLOnews: You captured the centers of 114 districts in two months. The Pentagon says that it questions your sincerity in the peace process. What is your response?

Mujahid: In the name of Allah… I should say that 125 districts have been captured in two months and are under our control. This progress has not been by force or through war. You are aware that most of them were through the leaving of Kabul administration soldiers’ who moved to quit fighting and join us and we came closer to each other. We can say that in one or one-and-a-half months we had the least casualties, same was for the Kabul administration soldiers because there wasn’t a need for war and all areas were captured automatically and they joined us. This does not mean that it will call into question our will because you are aware that it is 16 months that we had reduced our operations for political matters and we had reduced our operations to 25%, which means that they were reduced by 75%. But despite that, the peace and negotiations process was moving forward slowly and it is slow right now, too; therefore, we could not sit with the other side. Läs intervjun