Prompted by the comment from Moose yesterday. Nice catch.
According to the news website OnlyCy, the Israeli government reportedly asked the Cypriot permission to use the "Andreas Papandreou" airbase in Paphos in exchange for ensuring the air defense of the Republic and changing the military balance in the region.
This request comes after the recent incidents of harassment of a Cyprus Airways flight and the continuous violations of Cypriot airspace south and east of Paphos.
In the "A. Papandreou" AB, the Cypriot government has built the necessary infrastructure for hosting and supporting fighter aircraft, while nearly a decade ago F-16 fighter jets of the HAF had stationed for a short time at the AB under the joint defence area doctrine between Greece and Cyprus.
The Israeli proposal is a significant upgrade of military relations between Israel and Cyprus, and certainly any decision taken by the Cypriot government will change the military balance in Cyprus.
This move also shows the determination of Israel to defend the energy resources of the area and its concern for the Turkish aggression. On the other hand such a move, if it were acceptable, would undoubtedly upgrade the crisis in the area because of the gas drilling.
However, in general, the Israeli proposal is a qualitative improvement in relations between the two countries and should be examined with caution.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/29/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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#1
Mmmmmkay...assuming this publication's credibility is somewhere above the Debka league, things in that neighborhood are about to get very interesting. And not in a good way.
The Holy Blogfather posted a pertinent note from a reader yesterday. Money quote: Its like the summer of 1914, but I keep wondering Where is the Sarajevo? Who will be the Archduke?"
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
09/29/2011 1:00 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Actually wouldn't be a bad idea and a good move for both countries. Israel gets air defense farther out into the Med and can project power against Turkey and Egypt, and Cyprus gets protection against Turkey.
#6
It's like the summer of 1914, but I keep wondering "Where is the Sarajevo? Who will be the Archduke?"
That caught my attention as well.
FWIIW, I think it will happen in N. Africa.
Algeria has yet to fall to a popular revolution and a free state which hopefully Libya will become with a long border with an authoritarian state isn't a stable configuration.
#8
Congratulations, Pheatch Ulick1830. That is the most incoherent post I've read in absolutely ages! Just a thought -- I don't think anyone ever claimed Cyprus as a Jewish homeland.
#13
Hey Abdrool, can you say M-O-B-Y? I knew you could because you are smarter than your average inbred forehead banger, but still not smarter than your average bear.
#14
Ooookay. Pheatch Ulick1830, that second try is certainly more coherent, which should bring you comfort. Now try actually reading the articles and comments at the site, to see if your opinion of us is valid. When you do, a simple, "Sorry, I hadn't had my tea yet," will be a good start.
It is odd. Usually it's the Muslims and the Jew-haters who who burst in here like that, not the Jewish lovers of Israel. But, contra the wise old gentleman of Ecclesiastics, there are indeed new things under the sun.
#16
Instead of WWI I see parallels to WW2 in that the world is in a global slump and the Superpower of the time is looking and acting weak. That's a go flag for crazies.
#17
I agree with the WWII comparison: we are facing an increasing aggressive Asian authoritarian power, that is massively dependent on imports for everything for fuel to food, who keeps biting off chunks of its neighbors, sells us all sort of cheap crap goods and buys all sorts of militarily-useful technology and products from us, and is taking advantage of a world-wide economic problem to expand in the Pacific in the face of a weak-kneed socialist American President who is talking about cutting the US military. Almost a duplicate of the positions of Imperial Japan and the US in the 1930s.
[An Nahar] Swiss parliamentarians ...Switzerland is home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... approved Wednesday a far-right move to impose a ban on the burqa or other face coverings in some public places, including on public transport.
With 101 votes against 77, the lower chamber of the house approved the motion titled "masks off!"
The draft bill will still have to be examined by the upper chamber.
Put forward by Oskar Freysinger, a politician of the Swiss far-right SVP party, the motion requires "anyone addressing a federal, cantonal or communal authority exercising his or her functions, to present themselves with their faces uncovered."
Burqas would also be banned on public transport, while "authorities can ban or restrict access to public buildings to such individuals in order to guarantee the security of other users."
Explaining the motion, Freysinger noted that "at a time when insecurity is growing in our streets, more and more people are hiding their faces behind a balaclava, a mask or a burqa.
"This makes it impossible to identify these people, a fact that is particularly troublesome in case of violence or identity checks," he noted.
La Belle France was the first European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... country to impose a ban on the burqa in public places, while Belgium joined it some months later.
On September 16, the Dutch government also agreed to a ban on the full Islamic veil under a deal with the far-right party of the anti-immigration MP Geert Wilders.
[An Nahar] Global creditors announced Wednesday the return of auditors to Greece in a bid to break an impasse over billions of euros in blocked bailout loans Athens needs to avoid default.
Nearly four weeks after abruptly leaving the city, EU and IMF negotiators will restart tough number crunching from Thursday amid mounting social tension and what the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... describes as the biggest challenge of its history.
Efforts to resolve the wider debt crisis, which the United States fears will trigger another worldwide downturn, are embroiled in national feuding with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... suggesting a second Greek bailout may need to be renegotiated.
Berlin, Gay Paree and the European Central Bank are also at odds over how much Europe's banks should lose in the event of a default, which would require massive recapitalization of bankruptcy-threatened lenders.
"This sort of in-fighting amongst Europe's leaders will only serve to undermine the recent rally in shares and the euro, underlining the importance of the audit's findings," said Moneycorp in a note to investors.
European stocks fell among the disarray, with London down 1.44 percent, Gay Paree 0.92 percent and Frankfurt 0.89 percent. However the euro was up against the dollar in afternoon trading, climbing to $1.3621 from $1.3590 in New York late Tuesday.
Once auditors decide the government in Athens is doing enough to merit more financial aid, Eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund will still have to sign off the money.
Finance ministers meet on Monday in Luxembourg, but EU economic affairs front man Amadeu Altafaj indicated that the negotiations in Athens would not be concluded in time for a decision by then.
He said another meeting of the 17-nation currency Eurogroup would be called to make that decision "as soon as possible."
While Greece is left waiting for the funds from a first 110-billion-euro ($150 billion) bailout approved last year, a few Eurozone states have yet to sign off on a second 159-billion-euro Greek rescue package that was agreed in July.
German politicians are due to vote on Thursday on expanding the scope and size of the EU's current rescue fund -- the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) -- which has already helped rescue Ireland and Portugal and will be tapped for Greece's second bailout.
The parliament in Finland, another country where there is deep-rooted reluctance to bailing out Eurozone strugglers, finally approved changes to the fund on Wednesday, but is still just the tenth of the 17 states to have done so.
"We are today faced with the greatest challenge our Union has known in all its history," European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso warned in his annual "state of the union" address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who held talks in Berlin on Tuesday with Merkel, said his country was making a "superhuman effort" to bring down its massive debt of more than 350 billion euros.
However the Financial Times reported the bailout had run into trouble, with some Eurozone members pushing for private creditors to take a bigger writedown on their Greek bond holdings.
In an interview with Greece's state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
, Merkel said the audit could also determine if the second bailout set up in July will stand as originally agreed.
"Should we renegotiate or not?" Merkel said. "Of course we would prefer that the figures remain unchanged, but I cannot foretell (the mission's report)."
The head of the German banking federation criticized the rampant talk Eurozone governments may now push private holders of Greek government bonds to accept losses of 50 percent instead of 21 percent as agreed in July.
"If governments now unravel the deal that was reached on private-sector involvement, then the loss in confidence for the financial markets would more than negate the benefits of any such action," Andreas Schmitz told the German daily Bild.
A Greek government front man said the country would escape default.
"We are not far from securing (the loan tranche). One by one, pending issues are settled," deputy government front man Angelos Tolkas told Flash Radio.
The Greek parliament on Tuesday approved a controversial property tax to shore up its budget, but the country is under pressure to jumpstart a privatization drive that is months behind schedule, and that creditors want to see raise 50 billion euros.
Greek austerity measures have met fierce resistance and Athens was again paralyzed by a transport strike Wednesday, with police again using tear gas, ahead of protests by pensioners, municipal workers and students.
Pushing for more unity in Europe, Barroso promoted the creation of controversial joint Eurozone bonds, despite German opposition, saying they would be a "natural and advantageous step for all" against the crisis.
Seeking to prevent future debt crises, the European parliament adopted on Wednesday stiffer budget rules armed with the threat of fines against governments with runaway deficits and debts.
Fitch ratings agency lowered Eurozone member Slovenia's credit rating by one notch to AA- over concern over its banks and failure to implement reforms to stabilize public finances.
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Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
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Swiss parliamentarians 
Global creditors announced Wednesday the return of auditors to Greece in a bid to break an impasse over billions of euros in blocked bailout loans Athens needs to avoid default.
