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US threatens to quit nuke talks; Iran blames West for divide

VIENNA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened Thursday to walk away from nuclear talks as he signaled that diplomats won't conclude an agreement with Iran over the coming hours — another delay that this time could complicate American efforts to quickly implement any deal. The Iranians immediately fired back, accusing the U.S. and its European allies of causing the deadlock.

Kerry and other Western officials said Iran still hadn't made the tough political decision to roll back its nuclear program. But a senior Iranian official said it was the Americans and their partners who were backtracking on several key commitments related to Iran's permitted level of nuclear activity and definitively ending economic sanctions against Tehran.

"This is not open-ended," Kerry told reporters outside the 19th-century Viennese palace hosting the negotiations. "We can't wait forever for the decision to be made. If the tough decisions don't get made, we are absolutely prepared to call an end to this process."

It was the strongest indication yet of U.S. frustration with Iran, and vice versa, coming two days after President Barack Obama vowed a similar response to Iranian intransigence and suggesting patience was running out as the current round of talks headed into its 14th day.

Thursday's latest delay for a comprehensive deal is significant. Iran is demanding prompt easing of economic penalties for nuclear concessions, and the longer it takes world powers to make good on their promises, the longer they'll have to wait for the Iranians to scale back their nuclear program.

Under U.S. law, the seven nations negotiating in Vienna have to complete the accord before the end of Thursday in Washington to avoid invoking a 60-day congressional review period during which President Barack Obama cannot waive sanctions on Iran. If they meet the target, the review would only be 30 days.


German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, left, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, 2nd l …
The specter of prolonged public relations campaigns for and against the pact also may not work in Obama's favor. The delay could imply that the U.S., Iran and other negotiating powers may end up having to push off the talks until September when any deal would again only amount to a 30-day review period.

"We will not rush and we will not be rushed," Kerry said.

"We would not be here continuing to negotiate just for the sake of negotiating. We're here because we believe we are making real progress toward a comprehensive deal," he said. But, he added: "We are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever."

Kerry spoke after discussing the state-of-play with other world powers for almost an hour Thursday evening. That conversation followed a flurry of other closed-door meetings, including a 45-minute session between Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The pair reconvened for more than an hour at night.

"We're working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done," Zarif tweeted.


U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, centre, arrives for a meeting at an hotel in Vienna, Thursday …
A senior Iranian official, who briefed foreign reporters covering the talks on condition no one quote him by name, declared the West's reluctance to ease economic penalties the biggest obstacle. The U.S. is "obsessed" with sanctions, said the official, adding that the deadlock could prove a major setback.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he would remain in Austria's capital for negotiations into Friday morning, citing "good things, but there is still work to do."

However, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who has been leading the American negotiating team alongside Kerry, was to leave for Portugal for most of Friday to discuss climate change matters with the president, prime minister and other senior officials.

The current round of talks has already been extended twice since it started on June 27, as has an interim nuclear accord with Iran that these negotiations are meant to finalize. The preliminary deal was due to expire on June 30, then July 7 and then Friday. It would have to be renewed a third time if the talks go beyond Friday.

At an economic summit in Russia, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said his nation was preparing for a "post-sanctions" era, suggesting a deal may be in sight to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.


Dark clouds hang over Palais Coburg where closed-door nuclear talks with Iran take place in Vienna, …
Kerry spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was also in Russia and voiced optimism, saying he was prepared to return to Vienna.

And in what was widely seen as a hint that the talks might soon wrap up, the White House late Wednesday issued a brief statement saying President Barack Obama had conferred with the U.S. negotiating team through a secure video call.

The last time Obama held a secure conference call with his negotiators on the road was shortly before the framework for a final accord was reached on April 2 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Kerry, nursing a broken leg, has been in Vienna since June 26, while Zarif has made one short trip to Tehran for consultations. Other foreign ministers have come and gone. All but the top diplomats from Russia and China were present at Thursday's meetings.

When the talks missed their second deadline it raised new questions about the ability of world powers to cut off all Iranian pathways to nuclear weapons through diplomacy.


U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar S …
Long-standing differences persist over inspections of Iranian facilities and the Islamic republic's research and development of advanced nuclear technology.

New difficulties also have surfaced over the past few days. Iran is pushing for an end to a U.N. arms embargo on the country but Washington opposes that demand.

Russia's Lavrov took Tehran's side.

"Our Western partners, who did not support a draft resolution entirely acceptable to the other parties, are at fault, not Iran," he tweeted.

___

Associated Press writer George Jahn contributed to this report.

(Must Read)

20 Reasons Iran is not after Nuclear Bomb

By Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian IPPNW - International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

Since the beginning of Iran’s nuclear crisis, I have left no opportunity to remind my friends in the West that tough international sanctions won't stop Iran's nuclear policy and the military option would also be catastrophic. The Western interlocutors maintained the opinion that it was all a bluff and that by applying sanctions and credible threat of military strike, Iran would stop its enrichment program. Today, after almost a decade, it seems the West finally recognizes the reality about the “war option” but has failed to recognize the same for the “sanction policy.” The West’s impetus on deciding whether to opt for war or sanctions is based on the intention of Iran acquiring nuclear weapon. The question that has remained is whether Iran is ultimately after nuclear bomb or not. If the answer is no—then the West’s concerns could be alleviated through a diplomatic solution. Towards attaining a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear file, the following is my reasoning as to why Iran is not after a nuclear bomb:

1. Since 2003, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has implemented the most robust inspections in its history with more than 100 unannounced and over 4000 man-day inspections in Iran. The agency has frequently declared there is no evidence of even a gram of nuclear material diverted towards building nuclear bomb.

2. The US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) in 2007 and 2011 concluded that:
• Iran does not have an active nuclear weapons program;
• There is no conclusive evidence that Iran has made any effort to build the bomb since 2003 , and
• Iranian leaders had made no political decision yet to build an actual weapon.

3. Based on the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa or religious decree, the use of nuclear weapons and all other types of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is haram or prohibited, a sin, useless, costly, harmful and dangerous, posing a serious threat to humanity.

4. During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Saddam Hussein authorized the use of chemical weapons against the Iranians, which killed and injured over 100,000 Iranian soldiers and civilians. Yet, even in a state of war the Iranians did not retaliate in kind because Imam Khomeini was against the use of weapons of mass destruction.



5. Based on Iranian assessment, the possession of nuclear weapons would provide only a short-term regional advantage that would turn into a longer-term vulnerability, because sooner or later Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia would follow suit and a regional nuclear arms race would be inescapable.

6. The technical choices Iran has made in the configuration of its nuclear program demonstrate a preference for a robust enrichment capability rather than for a rapid nuclear weapons breakout capability. Iran’s development program is focused on next-generation centrifuge technology (IR-2m), rather than mass production or maximum installation of already mastered models of IR-1s and IR-2s that if Iran was determined to acquire weapons in the near term, would be the most efficient and rapid approach.

7. The activities detailed in the November 2011 IAEA report are not directed at any specific nuclear weaponization. According to Robert Kelly, an American top nuclear expert and the former IAEA inspector the report was misleading and aimed to bolster hardliners and I quote, “by taking information and feeding it as raw meat to people who want to move forward with war.”

8. Iran recognizes that by becoming a nuclear weapons state, it will compel Russia and China to join the United States and implement devastating sanctions that would paralyze the Iranian economy.

9. Iran’s ultimate strategy is to be a modern nation with advanced technology. The majority of Iran’s prominent politicians believe that a nuclear bomb would be detrimental for Iran’s long term technological cooperation with developed countries. They do not want to see Iran come under the extreme international isolation levied against North Korea.

10. A nuclear-weapon-free zone for the Middle East was first proposed by Iran in 1974 and the main obstacle to the initiative has been Israel—the only country in the region that possessing hundreds of nuclear weapons and not a member of the NPT.

11. Iran does not possess any type of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and has signed all major treaties repudiating the possession of weapons of mass destruction. These include the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) .

12. In summer 2011, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former Director General of the IAEA for 12 years and the Nobel Peace Prize recipient stated: “I have not seen a shred of evidence that Iran has been weaponizing, in terms of building nuclear-weapons facilities and using enriched materials . . . I don’t believe Iran is a clear and present danger. All I see is the hype about the threat posed by Iran.”
Mohammed ElBaradei refused to bow before warmongers and was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet his successor, Yukiya Amano according to WikiLeaks disclosure of US Embassy cable in Vienna, described himself as ‘solidly in the U.S. court on every key strategic decision, from high-level personnel appointments to the handling of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program’.

13. Iran recognizes that becoming a nuclear weapons state would give the Israelis ample ammunition to rally the US and the international community on a perceived existential threat to its existence for creating another war in the Middle East.

14. During nuclear negotiations from 2003-05 between Iran and France, Germany, and the UK (the EU-3), Iran submitted different proposals, which included a declaration to:
• Cap enrichment at 5 percent level;
• Export enriched uranium beyond the domestic consumption or fabricate it into fuel rods;
• Commit to additional protocol and subsidiary agreement code 3.1, which would provide the maximum level of transparency;
• Allow the IAEA to make snap inspections of nuclear facilities; and
• To ship its low enriched uranium (LEU) to another country for fabrication into fuel rods for Tehran Research Reactor (TRR).
The EU declined due to US position on “zero enrichment” in Iran.

15. The IAEA deputy director-general, Mr. Herman Nackaerts visited Iran in August 2011. He was provided with a carte blanche to visit all nuclear installations. During his visit, he requested access and permitted to the research and development facilities on advanced centrifuges and other related R&D facilities. No other country has provided the inspectors of the IAEA such level of access to its facilities—not even the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). During his visit, he also visited the simulation activities and R&D facilities of the heavy water reactor in Arak.
Following the visits, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Foredoom Abbasi, offered to extend the IAEA carte blanche on Iran’s nuclear program and activities with full supervision for five years, provided that sanctions against Iran are lifted—however the West declined.

16. In the summer of 2011, during President Ahmadinejad, Iran welcomed the Russian step-by-step proposal, which was even beyond our initiatives in 2003-5.15 The Russian Plan required Iran to:
• Allow full supervision by the IAEA;
• Implement the IAEA additional protocol and subsidiary arrangement Code 3.1;
• Halt production of highly enriched uranium and limit enrichment to 5 percent;
• Cease installation of new centrifuges;
• Limit the number of enrichment sites to one;

• Address IAEA concerns about the “possible military dimension” of the nuclear program and other technical ambiguities. This requires Iran to give access to IAEA even beyond Additional Protocol; and
• Suspend enrichment temporarily.
That’s why the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman recently said: “Iran, in order to prove its goodwill, has even gone beyond the commitments enumerated in the agency’s regulations”. However the US and EU rejected the offer.

17. Accusation levied against Iran for stockpiling enriched uranium to build nuclear weapon are misleading, since Iran requires 27 tons of uranium enriched at 3.5 percent annually to provide fuel for its only nuclear power plant in Bushehr. Up to now, Iran has produced about 7 tons and needs an additional 20 tons.

18. The West’s biggest concern and therefore highest priority in nuclear talks have centered on Iran’s 20% enriched uranium. First in February 2010 and for the second time in Sept 2011, Iran proposed to stop its 20% enrichment in return for fuel rods—once again the West declined. Iran repeated his readiness again. "If they give us the 20 percent [enriched] fuel, we will immediately halt 20 percent [enrichment]," Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Iranian state-run television. But Europe responded to his goodwill by placing more sanctions.

19. The accusation that Iran’s stockpile of 20% enriched uranium is aimed at building nuclear weapons is also baseless. First, the IAEA considers this level of enrichment as LEU, and second reason is that Iran was left with no other avenue than to pursue self-sufficiency in the production of fuel rods for TRR following the West’s rejection of multiple Iranian offers.

20. Last but not least, Israel is the main force behind allegations levied against Iran for pursuing nuclear weapons and been on the verge of acquiring one. But it is a baseless claim which has been frequently repeated since early1990’s.
• In October 1992 the then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said that Iran would be armed with a nuclear bomb by 1999.etanyahu wrote in his book in 1995 that Iran would possess nuclear weapons within 3 to 5 years.
• In July 2001 Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer confirmed that by the year 2005 Iran would have a nuclear bomb.
• In February 2009 Netanyahu told US congressional delegation that Iran is only one or two years away from nuclear weapons.

• In his speech at UN in September 2012, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran would achieve nuclear bomb by "next spring, at most by next summer.24
Based on Israeli claims Iran was supposed to have nuclear weapons in 1999, yet thirteen years later, Iran neither has a bomb nor diverted its nuclear program towards military purposes.
The reasons above should convince the West that Iran is not after a nuclear bomb and it is time to enter into a genuine, face-saving solution. Here are the main elements of a face saving solution:
1- The P5+1 would recognize the legitimate rights of Iran for enrichment under the NPT,
2- The P5+1 would gradually lift the sanctions.
In return Iran would take the following measures:
1- Operationalizing the Leader’s Fatwa or religious decree on ban of nuclear weapon.
2- Implementing Additional Protocol.
3- Implement Subsidiary Arrangements Code 3.1.
4- Cooperate with IAEA to address remaining technical ambiguities.
5- Cooperate with the IAEA to resolve Possible Military Dimension issues.
6- To realize the “Zero Stockpile Initiative”, Iran either would export the enriched stockpile beyond its domestic consumptions or convert into fuel rods.
7- Capping the Enrichment at 5%.
8- To establish a regional or multinational consortium for enrichment in Iran.
This is a package which can guarantee the legitimate rights of Iran under NPT for enrichment while ensuring the world that Iran would remain a non-nuclear weapon state forever.

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

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The point isn't that Iran is after nuke or not, actually there is no evidence to support such claims and allegations let alone to prove it. All these puffing and huffing are merely about changing Iran behavior to give in and accept American hegemony ... the rest of it is just a bitter joke ..
raptor22(PDF)

First Iraqi F-16 en route for home

The Iraqi Air Force is finally getting there long-awaited Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat jets. The first Viper – reportedly of a first batch of four – has been spotted making a stop-over at Lajes on the Azores, an island owned by Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean, en route to Balad Airbase in their new homeland.
It is a small little success for Baghdad in a play that never seem to end. And much needed after one of their generals .

At least four other Iraqi Air Force F-16C/Ds – dubbed F-16IQ – remain operational at Tuscon International Airport, since Iraqi flight and ground crew training started there on 16 December 2014. Fearing use of the weapons against its own population – like what happened in the past against the Kurds – or having the jets falling into the hands of ISIS or Iran the US has downgraded the F-16s somewhat and doesn’t allow Iraq to have the most modern weapon technology on their new Vipers.
With the first multi-role combat jets for Iraq since the 2003 American-led invasion, the successively toppling of then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and successively destruction of the Iraqi military, the Air Force of the strategically located and large Southwest Asian nation finally seems to slowly grow up again. .


36 F-16C/D Block 52 in order, a lost definitely replaced based to Balad, a Sqn and an other later to Talil/Ali

Really?! And the world gets stranger and stranger

Obama Designates Tunisia as Major Non-NATO Ally

President

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on Thursday pledged to elevate Tunisia as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, a gesture that recognizes the country's democratic progress after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

The upgrade in status, shared by close U.S. allies like Israel and Japan, can help expedite defense shipments. But it is chiefly a sign of the importance Obama has placed on supporting the nascent democracy through turbulence in the region.

After meeting with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi in the Oval Office, Obama said the United States will provide short-term aid so Tunisia can complete economic reforms.

"At this critical time in world history, we think it's very important for us to continue to expand the economic assistance that we're providing so that ordinary Tunisians can feel the concrete benefits of a change to a more open and competitive economy," Obama told reporters.

The White House said the United States would offer up to $500 million in loan guarantees to the north African nation if needed for economic reforms.

Since the Arab Spring,

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has worked to hold democratic elections and develop a constitution. But the country is very poor, with unemployment around 15 percent, and tensions are rising.

The government has pledged to boost development and jobs but is also under pressure to cut public spending and subsidies.

Essebsi told reporters that his country has "a long way ahead of us" to transform itseconomy and needed U.S. support.

"The democratic process is always vulnerable and threatened by chaos, by parties that do not believe in democracy," Essebsi said, speaking through a translator.

Essebsi's visit, rich in symbolism, needs to be followed up with concrete, sustained U.S. financial aid and attention, said Tamara Cofman Wittes, a former State Department official who worked on democracy issues in the Middle East.

"Symbolism is not going to save Tunisia from the fragility of its economy, from the instability that is the Libya civil war next door," said Cofman Wittes, now with the Brookings Institution.

Islamic State and other militant groups have recruited members in the country.

Islamic militants attacked Tunis' Bardo museum in March and killed 22 people, most of them tourists.

Obama said the leaders discussed the need to stabilize neighboring

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"so that we don't have a failed state and a power vacuum that ends up infecting the situation in Tunisiaas well," Obama said.

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Link:



Back to bottling my Grenache

Iran former Defense minister and current head of Iran's Supreme Security council, Admiral Ali Shamkhani , said that Iran already reveres engineered Sunburn Anti Ship cruise missile and mass product it ...

Miragedriver said:

Really?! And the world gets stranger and stranger

Obama Designates Tunisia as Major Non-NATO Ally




Link:

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Back to bottling my Grenache

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He should have thought of the disadvantage of having a failed state there before he destroyed the Libyan state.

Miragedriver said:

Really?! And the world gets stranger and stranger

Obama Designates Tunisia as Major Non-NATO Ally




Link:

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Back to bottling my Grenache

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no kidding! Tunisia as major NATO member? Not only are Salafist groups gaining more influence but their military is abysmal.
I'm guessing the inclusion is all about politics and nothing about adhering to NATO principles and certainly not about article 5 or maybe Obama knows something we don't?

Israel Navy To Upgrade Combat Surface Fleet

TEL AVIV — The Israel Navy is upgrading its entire combat surface fleet with new German-built, Israeli-equipped Sa'ar-6 corvettes and the integration of new radars and electronic warfare (EW) systems in existing Sa'ar-5 and Sa'ar 4.5 ships.

Procurement and retrofit of the new radars, developed by Elta Systems, and the combined active and passive EW suite by Elbit Systems Elisra will start next year.

By the end of the decade, the upgraded corvettes and missile boats will be joined by four larger Sa'ar-6 combat ships, part of a recently inked €430 million deal between Israel and Germany for defense of offshore energy assets in Israel's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Under the Israel-German corvette deal — concluded in May after nearly five years of negotiations — Berlin agreed to contribute €115 million to offset costs for hull, mechanical and engineering work at ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Kiel, Germany.

The deal allows Israel to provide its own combat weapons suite, armament and subsystems for the German-built ships, which are Israeli-tailored versions of the 1,800-ton displacement Blohm+Voss-class 130 corvette.

"It will be designed along the shape of that platform," said Israel Navy Capt. Ariel Shir, head of the Electronic Combat Systems Department in the service's Materiel Command. "All the top-side arrangements above the water line are basically a German and Israeli design, tailored for the needs of the Israel Navy and integrated with our own radar, EW and other systems.

"Now that the contract is signed on the Sa'ar-6 ships, we're starting to contract for the subsystems," Shir said, noting that combat system procurement would be in coordination with the production schedule for the new platforms.
A key focus, Shir said June 24, was to achieve commonality among all combat systems in the service's warship fleet.

"We're working lockstep with our industries and with the Defense Ministry to tailor the radars and the EW system to suit all platforms," said the officer, a former surface ship combatant and electrical engineer who has been managing techno-logistics programs for the Israel

Navy and the Israel Defense Ministry for the past several years
Shir said the service has a fully funded plan to upgrade its eight Israeli-built Nirit-class, 500-ton Sa'ar-4.5 missile boats in 2016.

Similarly, the service has funding in the coming year to equip its US-built Sa'ar-5s with the new EW suite and new radars, although the exact radar and weapons configuration for two of the three Sa'ar-5s has yet to be determined.

In parallel, the Navy will be working closely with the German shipyard and Israeli industry on the integrated logistics support needed to install the locally developed radars and EW suites into the new vessels.

Navy modernization plans call for upgrading the smaller Sa'ar 4.5s with the ELM-2258 ALPHA, an advanced lightweight rotating and scanning phased array radar that will enhance performance of the platform's Barak-1 ship defense system.

New Sa'ar-6 EEZ defense platforms will feature the same EW suite and the ELM-2248 Adir, a multifunction surveillance, track and guidance radar; and the Barak-8, an anti-missile and air-defense system by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

As for the radar planned for the service's three-ship Sa'ar-5 fleet, one — the INS Lahav — is already operational with the new Adir radar and Barak-8. However, the remaining two corvettes will either receive the same Adir/Barak-8 configuration as the new German-built Sa'ar-6s or the smaller ALPHA radar.

"There will be a new radar in all of our Sa'ar-5s, but the decision as to which radar has not been taken yet. It's a matter of budget," Shir said.
Igo Licht, director of marketing and sales for Elta, Israel's radar development house, said the ALPHA and Adir radars came from the same family and utilize the same active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology for long-range surveillance, tracking, target classification and fire control.

The larger Adir radar, the ELM-2248, consists of four large panels positioned at both ends of the ship for persistent, all-weather, 360-degree coverage. The smaller ALPHA ELM-2258 rotating radar demands much less space and cooling resources, Licht said.

"Both radars perform many different functions and the beams change according to the mission … You can't get that in older radars, where the beams are fixed and you can't control the shape," he said.

Other modernization programs aimed at fortifying the Navy's combat surface fleet against an array of missile and air breathing threats include development of an infrared staring sensor, a new countermeasures control system and an upgrade of shipboard communications capabilities.

The service released a request for information last month to Israeli firms interested in a potential bid for the next-generation countermeasures system.

As for the infrared staring sensor, the service is working with Rafael Advanced Systems and the Defense Ministry's Research and Development Directorate to adapt the firm's Believer system, used by the Israeli Army to rapidly and accurately detect the source of enemy fire.
One prototype has already been built as part of a multi-year program now in feasibility assessment for sea-based missions.

With regard to improvements in the Navy's concept of operations, Shir said the service is moving to autonomous operating modes following the 2006 Lebanon war, when a Hezbollah-launched C-802 missile struck and temporarily disabled one of its Sa'ar-5s because the ship's onboard self-defense system had not been activated.

"The more our systems are automated, the less chances there are for someone to miss something," said Shir, who served as head of radar programs at the time. He said the service has "fully internalized and implemented" voluminous lessons from one of the top failings from that war.

"Beyond the high performance and robustness of our systems, we must have full and persistent awareness," he said. "Today, our level of readiness is at an entirely different place. Our operators thought processes are completely different, as is training and certification."

Along with revamped readiness and operational procedures, Shir said the fleetwide radar upgrade would enormously increase Israel's maritime combat effectiveness. He likened the modernization to a heart transplant.

"When you take out the radar and replace it with a new, more advanced system, you must connect properly all the interfaces with all the other systems, just like a surgeon would do with the veins and arteries of the heart," he said. "If not, you may not be able to use the new capabilities, or worse, you'll face difficulties syncing all the systems back together again. We're working to make sure this operation is a success."

kwaigonegin said:

no kidding! Tunisia as major NATO member? Not only are Salafist groups gaining more influence but their military is abysmal.
I'm guessing the inclusion is all about politics and nothing about adhering to NATO principles and certainly not about article 5 or maybe Obama knows something we don't?

Click to expand...

It's about Tunisia being a mighty country that is a valuable ally of US. It will play well within the beltway.