NATO flexes muscles on terror in Med Sea

The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, consists of Turkey’s Gediz, France’s Courbet and Germany’s Bayern frigates, arrives in Istanbul. The group will head to the Med soon.

A key NATO maritime group has begun flexing its muscles in the Mediterranean as it sets off from Istanbul with a mission to combat terrorism in the sea.

The task of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 is “to give a clear message to terrorists in the region that NATO is on duty,” German Rear Adm. Thorsten Kahler told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday. Germany recently took over the leadership of the mission from Turkey.

The group will conduct its mission in the eastern Mediterranean at a time of increased tensions in the area following the recent downing of a Turkish jet by Syrian forces and continued energy exploration off Greek Cyprus’ southern coast that has upset Turkey and Turkish Cyprus.

This anti-terrorism mission is “the only Article 5 mission of NATO so far, coming from Sept. 11 of course, and [it has been] making the Mediterranean a safer place and preventing terrorism,” Kahler said.

Under Article 5 of the NATO convention, an armed attack against one of the alliance’s members is considered an attack against them all, effectively necessitating a combined response.

“Terrorism is not dead and we have to make sure that the message of NATO is understood. People and especially NATO are not willing to accept terrorism coming to the Mediterranean. We have to publish that message clearly,” Kahler said.

Rear Adm. Kahler said the group would be heading further into the Mediterranean on July 7.

“We are not telling our whole schedule, but we will stay in the region.” Asked whether there was such a lack of security in the region that an anti-terrorist mission was necessary, he said NATO did not know how many terrorists there were around the world. “So what we have to make sure is to tell the terrorists to be careful; we are here and providing security for NATO member states,” he said.

Three frigates from Turkey, France and Germany

He also said they were in Istanbul “to say thank you” to Turkey, which is one of the biggest providers of ships. The group was handed over in a ceremony held at the Aksaz Naval Base in the southwestern district of Marmaris on June 15. The maritime group consists of three frigates registered under three different countries. Turkey’s Gediz, France’s Courbet and Germany’s Bayern have 545 sailors on board in total.

The frigates also have their own choppers and helicopter landing sites, as well as ship-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles, automatic light naval guns and 100- 76- and 27-mm guns.

According to official information from the alliance, Mark 46 torpedoes, which are designed to attack high-performance submarines, are also included among the group’s armaments.

Rear Adm. Sinan Azmi Tosun, the previous Turkish commander of the group, said they had conducted operations against 10 pirate ships, arresting 175 suspected pirates

Netanyahu: German submarines prove commitment to Israeli security

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that submarines supplied by Germany to Israel are "a very important addition to our national security," adding that "through them, [Germany] demonstrates its commitment to Israel's security."

Netanyahu made the remarks in an interview with Kai Diekmann, chief editor of the German tabloid Bild, Europe's most popular newspaper, in Jerusalem.

On Monday, another German newspaper, Der Spiegel, reported that submarines produced by Germany and supplied to Israel as part of an extensive arms deal are capable of launching nuclear-tipped cruise missiles – despite insistence by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the submarines provided to Israel are not nuclear-capable.

While he was not asked about the submarines' nuclear capabilities, Netanyahu told Diekmann he attributes "great seriousness" to Germany's concern for Israel's security, but added that "it's important that the Jewish State know how to defend itself against all threats."

"As Churchill said, 'Give us the tools, we will defend ourselves,'" he added.

Der Spiegel reported that Israel is considering the purchase of three more German submarines, in addition to the six it had already bought – three of which are already in Israel. Germany absorbs a third of the cost of the deals, and allows Israel to delay payment of its part until 2015.

Der Spiegel also reported that Germany has been conducting negotiations with Pakistan over the sale of nuclear submarines. According to the report, negotiations between the two states have been ongoing for several years regarding the sale of three nuclear-capable subs at a total cost of 1.2 billion Euros.

The report was published two days after Der Spiegel's cover expose claiming that Germany sold Israel submarines capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The deal was justified on the basis of Germany's commitment to Israel's security, and the Holocaust. It has become clear that Germany has been conducting parallel negotiations with additional states, which do not necessarily recognize Israel and in certain scenarios could feasibly threaten its security.

"Pakistan does not officially recognize Israel, and is conducting an arms race with India. Supplying German submarines could ignite [the arms race] and threaten world peace," it was reported in the article. "Additional arming of Pakistan is against Israel's interests."

Opponents of the deal quoted in the article cited Pakistan's instability, with terrorist threats and religious extremists, raising the risks involved with transferring the German sub.

The German Defense Ministry, for its part, argued that Pakistan is "the West's partner" in the war on terror.