Försvarsminister Peter Hultqvist (S) tillbakavisar kritik om att han inte informerat riksdagen om att de nya ubåtarna blir dyrare. Han försvarar försvarsindustrin, medan de borgerliga partierna kräver bättre insyn och kontroll av stora projekt.

Som DN avslöjat kommer Sveriges två nya ubåtar som byggs av Saab att bli kosta flera miljarder mer än planerat. Utan mer pengar till Försvarsmakten så bantas eller stryks andra investeringar. Men försvarsministern vill inte tala om fördyringen av ubåtarna.[…]

– Vi har informerat när vi haft något att säga, och kommer att komma tillbaka till riksdagen när vi har ytterligare information att delge, säger Peter Hultqvist.

Att kostnaderna stiger för komplicerade vapensystem som tar åratal att utveckla är inte ovanligt. Allan Widman (L) kritiserade att hänsyn till svensk försvarsindustri lett till försvaret inte blivit balanserat och krigsavhållande. Även det invänder ministern mot.[…]

I Sverige är stridsflyg och undervattensförmåga så kallade väsentliga säkerhetsintressen (VSI) som undantas från EU:s konkurrensregler. Försvarsindustrikoncernen Saab är ensam leverantör av både ubåtar och stridsflyg och har därmed en monopolställning. Att vidmakthålla industrins kompetens kostar pengar och riskerar att gå ut över andra objekt i Försvarsmaktens investeringsplaner. Läs artikel

Mens Forsvaret er omgjort til en innsatsstyrke til bruk i NATOs strategi for globalt herredømme, blir forsvaret av Norge i stigende grad outsourcet, Nord-Norge gjort til alliert baseområde, og norske bedrifter nærmest fullintegrert i den amerikanske krigsindustrien.

Fra å være et betydelig invasjonsforsvar, som skulle sikre Norges territorium, har vi fått et lite, spesialisert innsatsforsvar, som stiller avanserte stridskrefter til rådighet når NATO ber oss om det. Derfor er Forsvaret i dag en global aktør, i praksis en leiehær, som settes inn i konfliktområder der den vestlige imperialismen møter motstand.

Av samme grunn har Norge ikke lenger et troverdig forsvar av eget territorium. Vi har forlatt basepolitikken, og det meste av reservasjoner som det var tverrpolitisk enighet om i de første 50 årene av NATO-medlemskapet, og åpnet landet vårt opp for utenlandske stridskrefter. Vi kan nærmest snakke om en utkontraktering – en outsourcing – av forsvaret av Norge. De fremste vestlige imperialistmaktene har etablert seg på norsk territorium. Läs artikel

Nato has announced the opening of its infrastructure facility for allied troops at the Tapa Base in Estonia.

Built with a €20m ($22.5m) investment, the project received majority funding through the Nato Security Investment Programme (NSIP).

The new facility will serve as a base for allied troops to take part in short-notice exercises and deployments quickly and effectively. The new infrastructure comprises barracks for troop accommodation, a storage area for prepositioning of equipment and vehicles, a medical centre and a helipad.

It will ensure flexibility and rapid movement of Nato forces, including the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) throughout the territory of Baltic Allies. Läs artikel

Unanimously adopting resolution 2531 (2020) under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the Council decided that MINUSMA will continue to comprise up to 13,289 military personnel and 1,920 police personnel.  It also authorized the Mission to use “all necessary means” to carry out its mandate “with a proactive, robust flexible and agile posture”.

The 15‑member organ decided that MINUSMA’s primary tasks will include supporting the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, signed in June 2015, support the stabilization and restoration of State authority in central Mali, protect civilians, exercise good offices, promote and protect human rights, and help create a secure environment for humanitarian assistance. […]

Regarding other military forces in the region, the resolution encourages the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) States — Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger — to scale up the level of operation of its joint force and requested the Secretary-General to enhance the sharing of intelligence between MINUSMA and the joint force.  It also authorized French forces in Mali to use all necessary means to intervene in support of MINUSMA when the Mission faces a serious threat.  In addition, it encouraged the European Union to continue to support security sector reform and the re-establishment of State authority throughout Mali. Läs referat från säkerhetsrådet

[…] As for Takuba, official declarations signal that accompanying is part and parcel of the mission.
Although it cannot be ruled out that some contingents will be limited by national caveats, there is reason to expect Takuba to generally be present on operations alongside its partners in FAMa (Malian Armed Forces). […]

Together with their partners from FAMa  Takuba will be entering into an extremely complex asymmetric conflict where antagonists sometimes intentionally hide among the local population. There have been credible reports of atrocities committed by FAMa during counterterrorism operations. In a best-case scenario, Takuba’s presence can help to reduce these crimes. In the worst case, Takuba’s counterparts will include perpetrators of gross human rights violations. Establishing vetting procedures that consider this risk is one concrete step to avoid the misuse of capacity. […]

By answering France’s call to participate in a SOF (special operations forces) mission in an extreme security environment, contributors demonstrate that they are both able and willing partners of France in the fight against terrorism. The Swedish government bill, for instance, refers to strengthened ties to France as a goal for participating in Takuba. Presenting its commitment to Takuba as part of a solidarity-based security policy, the Swedish government acknowledges that its reasons for joining the mission stem not only from circumstances in Mali.  Läs rapporten

Läs även kommentar här på sajten till Sveriges deltagande i Takuba.

The coronavirus crisis has caused a dramatic deterioration in the European public perception of the US, extensive new polling reveals.

More than 60% of respondents in Germany, France, Spain, Denmark and Portugal said they had lost trust in the United States as a global leader.

A report based on the survey’s findings argues that the shock of the pandemic has “traumatised” European citizens, leaving them feeling “alone and vulnerable”. In almost every country surveyed, a majority of people said their perception of the US had deteriorated since the outbreak. Negative attitudes of the US were most marked in Denmark (71%) Portugal (70%), France (68%), Germany (65%) and Spain (64%). In France, 46% and in Germany 42% said their view of the US had worsened “a lot” during the pandemic. […]

So low is confidence in the future of the transatlantic partnership that only 2% of respondents in Germany and 3% in France said they would expect US support as Europe rebuilds its damaged economy.

“Europeans have digested the fact that the US is no longer necessarily a friend for Europe in times of need,” Dennison said. Läs artikel

The announcement that “a group of Syrian refugees and their London lawyers” have found “a neat legal trick” to press for an indictment against Syrian President Bashar Assad by the International Criminal Court demonstrates, yet again, the dangerous corruption of international justice, against which I have been warning for over a decade.

The Syrian war is nearly over, thanks to the military successes of the Syrian army and its Russian and Iranian allies. Exhaustion on both sides has probably helped. Diplomatic overtures have started to re-integrate Syria into the international system, starting at the regional level: the United Arab Emirates have re-opened their embassy in Damascus; the Sudanese president, Assad’s near namesake, Omar Al-Bashir, has visited Syria, as have senior Egyptian officials; Syrian officials have attended pan-Arab summits; even Israel is maintaining its dialogue with Russia over Syria. In short, the situation is being slowly normalised as Syria herself embarks on the painful search for internal peace.

The attempt to get Assad prosecuted is an attempt to stamp out these seedlings of peace before they take root. Any prosecution against Assad would scupper, or at least severely damage, this slow acceptance that the Syrian president is part of the solution. When even the British government has accepted that Assad is here to stay, and that peace must be made with him, his implacable enemies fear that their prize is about to slip out of their grasp. They do not want peace, if that means keeping Assad.[…]

By seeking to extend its lamentable rule to Syria, and thereby to disrupt a barely embryonic peace there, the ICC risks destroying its reputation even further. For the rules limiting the jurisdiction of international organisations to states which have consented to accept them are not some arcane technicality of international law. Instead, they reflect the most basic principle of politics, which is that those who wield power need to be constitutionally linked to those over whom they wield it. International organisations which are not based on such consent violate that very basic principle flagrantly, and therefore start to resemble the very dictatorships they pretend to combat. Läs artikel

FNs sikkerhetsråd har enstemmig gått inn for en resolusjon som forlenger nærværet av de fredsbevarende styrkene i Mali med ett år.

Resolusjonen ber også om en langsiktig, detaljert plan som vil ende med at sikkerhetsansvaret overføres til Mali, og at styrkene forlater det vestafrikanske landet.

De fredsbevarende styrkene, som er en del av FN-operasjonen MINUSMA, er i Mali for å støtte gjennomføringen av fredsavtalen som ble signert i 2015.

Norge har i dag 15 personer i FN-operasjonen, som er knyttet til driften av den norske FN-leiren samt stabsfunksjoner i FN-styrkens hovedkvarter.

Mali har vært herjet av uro siden et opprør i 2012 banet vei mot et maktvakuum som islamistgrupper utnyttet. En franskledet intervensjon i 2013 skjøv islamistene vekk fra makten, men sikkerhetssituasjonen har fortsatt vært svært ustabil.

Regjeringen, en koalisjonen som består av blant annet etniske grupper som tuareger og arabere, og en regjeringsvennlig militsgruppe sto bak fredsavtalen fra 2015. Läs artikel

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Tuesday for an arms embargo on Iran to be extended indefinitely, but his appeal fell flat at the United Nations Security Council, where Russia and China rejected it outright and close allies of the United States were ambivalent.

The embargo, which is set to expire on Oct. 18, stems from the 2015 deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program. President Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, and Iran has exceeded the accord’s limits on uranium enrichment since then, part of a steady escalation of tensions that have at times pushed the two countries dangerously close to war. […]

Representatives of Britain, France and Germany voiced unease at both the expiration of the embargo and the American approach, particularly the snapback, which they flatly opposed. Läs artikel

15 prickskytteaspiranter från Amfibieregementet (Amf1), Norrbottens regemente (I19) och Livgardet (LG) samlades vecka 26 vid Markstridsskolan (MSS) för att genomföra en veckas prickskytteprov. […]

– Bland annat prövas deras förmåga att verka med psg 90B, både under lugna förhållanden och under olika former av stress. Även förmåga till avståndsbedömning och stalk i olika miljöer testas, sa övningsledaren, och fortsatte:
– Över tiden har även förmågan att orientera och skyttarnas uthållighet prövats då de har framryckt till fots i terrängen mellan de olika momenten.
Efter en veckas prov kunde 11 av de 15 prickskytteaspiranterna erhålla prickskyttebågen och utnämnas med dess motto: ”Ett skott – En träff”.
Dessa 11 nya prickskyttar har visat att de äger rätt förmågor och är nu ett av de viktigaste systemen för punktmålsbekämpning. Läs pressmeddelande

Iran har utfärdat en arresteringsorder på USA:s president Donald Trump samt 35 andra personer som anses ha varit inblandade i den iranska toppgeneralen Qasem Soleimanis död.

Det här uppger åklagaren Ali Alqasimehr i Teheran. Han uppger också att man bett den internationella polismyndigheten Interpol om hjälp. […]

Alqasimehr uppger att man hoppas att Interpol ska ”rödmärka” Trump och de 35 andra personerna. ”Rödmärkning” innebär att man hamnar på polisorganisationens lista över de mest efterlysta personerna. Läs artikel