Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases

New York Times – United States
By Christopher Drew: April 3, 2009

The Army’s expensive Future Combat Systems is likely to be cut back. So are exotic missile defense programs. But the supersonic F-22 fighter jet might survive. And problems with both old and new aircraft carriers could eventually lead to at least a temporary reduction in the number of carrier battle groups.

These are the consensus expectations of worried defense executives and consultants about the sweeping changes in military programs that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to announce on Monday.

The decisions are expected to be the first step in a broad reshaping of the military under the Obama administration. …

www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/washington/04defense.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

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RIA Novosti – 2 April 2009

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has criticized NATO’s eastward expansion and the failure by Western powers to keep their promise not to deploy military bases near Russia’s borders.

Gorbachev said in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper published on Thursday that Western Germany, the United States and other powers had pledged after Germany’s reunification in 1990 that “NATO would not move a centimeter to the east.” …

NATO has enlarged since 1999, admitting three ex-Soviet Baltic republics and four Communist-bloc states in Eastern Europe. The membership was more recently increased on Wednesday, when Albania and Croatia formally joined the alliance.

The expansion has strained relations between the West and Russia, which is concerned by the new military bases emerging along its borders. …

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090402/120879153.html

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from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation – April 2009

On April 1, 2009, President Barack Obama of the United States and President Dmitriy Medvedev of Russia issued a joint statement outlining plans for increased cooperation on a number of key international issues, including nuclear disarmament.

Their statement read in part, “We committed our two countries to achieving a nuclear free world, while recognizing that this long-term goal will require a new emphasis on arms control and conflict resolution measures, and their full implementation by all concerned nations.”

To read the full statement, visit: http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2009/04/01_obama_medvedev_statement.php

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