American Aggression Borders on Economic War With France - UPDATED

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France may lose another multibillion shipbuilding deal to US

11 Dec, 2021 04:24 

An artist's rendering of Lockheed Martin's Hellenic Future Frigate design ©  Lockheed Martin

The United States has approved a massive arms sale to Greece, offering four new frigates and a major modernization package worth up to $9.4 billion, directly challenging a similar preliminary agreement with France.

The US State Department said it approved the potential deals on Friday, announcing the offer of several Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships in addition to a separate $2.5 billion plan to modernize Greece’s MEKO Class Frigates.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally, which is an important partner for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.

Unfortunately, foreign policy and national security objectives are entirely about weapons sales. France is quite capable of meeting NATO objectives. Why is the USA treating them the same way they treat Russia? It's very disappointing that the EU is tolerating this aggression without a word.

If executed, the scheme to update Greece’s frigate fleet would include the installation of a number of new systems, such as new five-inch artillery cannons and upgraded sonar. Arms dealers Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, VSE Corporation and the UK’s BAE Systems would serve as the primary contractors.

Ever wonder who is running the government? This is Deep State! They care for no-one but themselves.

The announced proposal comes after France declared in September that it had reached a similar agreement with Greece to provide up to four new frigates for $3.4 billion (€3 billion). At the time, however, French military spokesman Herve Grandjean said that while some commitments had been made, no formal contract was yet signed between the two sides. He added that the deal would be finalized after a period of three months, a deadline set to mature sometime in the coming weeks. 

Though it is yet unclear what the US proposal will mean for France’s deal, the move could be interpreted as a major slight by Washington, which already invoked the country’s ire earlier this year after unveiling a nuclear submarine deal with Australia despite a preexisting arrangement with Paris. France, which was slated to sell diesel subs to Canberra, responded by recalling its ambassadors in both the US and Australia, while President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized the two allies in public.

Two weeks after the AUKUS bombshell, Macron took the stage with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis to personally announce the sale of French warships to Athens, saying it was time to “stop being naive” while touting the deal as a sign of “Europe’s strategic autonomy and sovereignty.”

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UPDATE: 12/12/2021

France reacts to rival offer of US frigates to Greece

11 Dec, 2021 23:36

An artists impression of Belharra frigate by the French Naval defence and energy group DCNS

©  DCNS via AFP

The defense ministries of France and Greece have both confirmed that a competing offer from the US will have no impact on an already “signed” and “final” multibillion-euro deal to purchase French Belharra frigates.

France's Ministry of Armed Forces stated on Saturday that a defense contract with Athens had already been “initialled a few days ago,” before the US State Department announced its approval of a potential sale of American frigates.

Since we have been in discussion with the Greeks, the American offer is no longer on the table... We also signed the contract with the Greeks.

Greece’s Defense Ministry also confirmed that the deal with Paris was “final,” since it had been negotiated at the “highest level possible” and “personally announced” by the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The finalized contracts are reportedly expected to be ratified by the Greek parliament “soon.”

Lest the Greek parliament have any doubts, they should check out America's most advanced Naval rust-bucket, the Zumwalt. This is what $4 billion dollars will get you.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Friday it had approved the sale for $6.9 billion of four Lockheed Martin combat frigates, and a separate $2.5 billion program to upgrade Greece's MEKO-class frigates.

The announcement triggered some concerns over the Athens-Paris agreement, especially after a long-existing submarine construction “deal of the century” between France and Australia was abruptly tanked by a bombshell AUKUS pact in September, without any prior warning. Paris was outraged and accused Washington and Canberra of a “stab in the back,” while just two weeks later Macron shared a stage with the Greek PM to personally announce the sale of at least three French warships to Athens for around $3.5 billion, saying it was time to “stop being naive” while touting the new deal as a sign of “Europe’s strategic autonomy and sovereignty.”

This time around, according to the French military, the US “had warned us that this announcement was going to come out” and that Americans allegedly had “no inclination to go further” with an actual sale of their frigates.

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US Ready to Turn Syria into Another Libya

US ready to ‘fight for justice’ in Syria without UN approval – Haley

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. © Brendan McDermid / Reuters

The US does not consider itself constrained by the United Nations Security Council and might seek “justice” in Syria on its own terms, the US representative to the UN, Nikki Haley, has said. The US took similar action in Libya in 2011.

“With the unity of this council, or alone, unrestrained by Russia’s obstructionism, we will continue to fight for justice and accountability in Syria,” Haley said, blasting Russia’s vetoing of the draft resolution on the extension of the Syrian chemical weapons probe on Friday.

The draft, proposed by Japan, envisioned the “technical extension” of the probe for another 30 days. Explaining Russia’s decision to block the resolution, Russian UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya said that there is no sense in prolonging the mission if some glaring flaws in its work are not amended.

"There can be no other way after the JIM’s [the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism] leadership disgraced itself with its fictitious investigation into the sarin use incident in Khan Shaykhun and signed off on baseless accusations against Syria,” he said.

Haley went on to accuse Russia of showing no flexibility in negotiating the conditions of the probe, claiming that Moscow had only “dictated and demanded” while the US had “incorporated elements of the Russian draft” into its own in the hopes of reaching a consensus.

Russia vetoed the US draft on Thursday, with Nebenzya calling it “unbalanced” and solely designed to discredit Russia and its role in the Syrian settlement. Haley subsequently accused the Russian mission of ignoring the US delegation's attempts to contact it before the vote.

Haley’s remarks on the impossibility of reaching the Russian mission provoked an angry reaction from Moscow, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov calling it “fake diplomacy.” Lavrov said that "it seems we are witnessing a new phenomenon in international relations, as now, apart from fake news, there is also fake diplomacy."

The rival draft was co-sponsored by Russia and China, and “aimed at the extension and qualitative improvement” of the fact-finding mission, according to Nebenzya. However, it also failed, gaining the support of only four Security Council members.

While both Russia and the US used their veto powers on the respective resolutions, Haley accused Moscow of obstructing the work of the UNSC and its efforts to find “the truth.”

The 'truth' as decided beforehand. See: Khan Sheikhun Sarin Gas Attack was a False Flag Operation

Russia has repeatedly criticized the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM)’s report on the chemical incident in Khan Shaykhun as being filled with “omissions, inconsistences and contradictions.” It also says it does not follow standard procedures for an impartial inquiry as it relies on questionable testimonies provided by rebels and NGOs, some of which are suspected of links to terrorists. In particular, it pointed to experts’ refusal to visit the site of the attack despite security guarantees.

Another Libya?

In 2011, the US intervened in the region to curb the violence in the ongoing civil war in Libya. Under the pretext of a UN mandate to establish a no-fly zone in the country and save civilian lives, the US-led NATO coalition waged a full-fledged campaign that eventually resulted in the slaughter of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and multiple civilian deaths, the number of which varies from 72, according to Human Rights Watch, to more than 1,000 in unconfirmed reports. The country is still in tatters and the war involving tribes and militants is ongoing. 

It's time to end the war in Syria, not prolong it as long as possible. Let the country begin to rebuild so Syrians can stay in Syria and perhaps even some migrants in Europe can return home. 

As evil and horrible as Bashar al-Assad is, he is not worth destroying what little remains of Syria and destroying Europe to take him out. That's insanity. 

If the USA's determination to keep the war going in Syria is to humor their Saudi friends, they are not worth it. If it is just to keep weapons rolling off the assembly-lines, that is prostitution of the worst kind.

End the war in Syria! It is within reach. Stop trying to one-up Russia at the expense of Syria and Europe.

Despite the UN not giving the greenlight for a full-fledged campaign in Syria, US Defense Secretary James Mattis claimed that the organization sanctioned action there, justifying it with the struggle against Islamic State terrorists. Damascus has repeatedly blasted the US for operating on Syrian territory without its consent and in violation of international law, and views the US presence as an invasion.