US,Greece Initiate Strategic Dialogue

The US and Greece are stepping up their relations by holding their first ever Strategic Dialogue from 13-14 December 2018 in Washington,D.C.According to a news release by the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic,the Strategic Dialogue has an agenda including:
Regional affairs and economy;
Defence and Security;
Rule of Law and combatting terrorism;
Commerce-Investment and Innovation;
Energy cooperation;
and People to People ties.*
The Greek delegation will be led by the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs,Giorgos Katrougalos.On Thursday morning,there will be a first meeting with President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser,John Bolton.The two sides will also release a joint statement.
In the afternoon,Mr.Katrougalos will meet privately with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
On Friday,Mr.Katrougalos will meet with business leaders over a working breakfast,covering attracting business in such areas as energy;digital technology;start-ups;and innovation.
A number of Hellenic Republic deputy ministers are accompanying Mr.Katrougalos to focus on Economy and Development;Digital Policy,Telecommunications and Information;Environment and Energy;Citizen Protection;and Education.Admiral E.Apostolakis,Head of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff,will also participate in the Strategic Dialogue.*
The Strategic Dialogue represents the upgrading of Greek-American relations at all levels,while establishing systematic cooperation between the two sides on a wide range of issues,the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic said.*
In its Integrated Country Strategy,the US sees Greece as:
a pillar of stability in a complicated region.Its position in the Eastern Mediterranean in close proximity to the Balkans,the Black Sea region,North Africa and the Middle East elevates Greece's importance in addressing US national security and energy priorities.
By encouraging Greece to grow its role in the European energy sector and pushing education reform,Embassy Athens will combat global adversaries' attempts to exploit Greece's geopolitical importance and structural vulnerabilities to destabilize the region and incite anti-Western sentiment.

Foreign Ministerial:Iran,Iraq and Jordan Concern NATO - plus keeping the Alliance's door open

The NATO Foreign Ministerial has just drawn to a close after two days of meetings at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg summed the conference up for journalists gathered in Belgium:
We have just concluded a very good and productive meeting of the Foreign Ministers of NATO.We discussed NATO's role in projecting stability and fighting terrorism,because instability abroad threatens stability at home.From the Balkans to Afghanistan,NATO has great experience in training local forces and strengthening local institutions.These are the best tools to make our Partners better able to defend themselves and to combat international terrorism.This year,we started training local forces in Iraq in areas such as countering Improvised Explosive Devices;military medicine;equipment maintenance;and reform of the country's security intstitutions.In particular,I welcome the contributions that our Partners such as Serbia and Jordan are making to these efforts.
Today,Allies looked to the future of NATO's training activity in Iraq and expressed their full commitment to it.And a number of Allies announced that they will contribute to the new Crisis Management Centre in Jordan as part of NATO's new capacity-building package for Jordan,and I really welcome this contribution by several Allies.*
As we look ahead to the Brussels Summit in July,we discussed how to engage further with our Partners to the South and the East.We need to devote sufficient resources to these efforts to make the best of the skills and capabilities we have.We also discussed how our role within the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS should evolve as the Coalition moves from combat operations to stabilisation efforts.This is something that both the Coalition and the Iraqi government want.The Coalition has recovered over 95% of the territory claimed by ISIS and liberated seven million people;but we must consolidate these gains.We know that projecting stability and fighting terrorism are generational challenges.There are no quick fixes and no overnight solutions.We have made progress and we are determined to do more.*
Over lunch,we discussed NATO's Open Door Policy.We agreed that this is an historic success,which remains a key contributor to Euro-Atlantic Security.Successive rounds have secured peace and stability in Europe and paved the way for Euro-Atlantic integration.Montenegro's accession to the Alliance this year is the latest example.We also agreed that accession is a decision for aspirant countries and the 29 Allies.Nobody else has the right to veto.In preparation for our Summit next July,we will review the progress of each aspirant country by our next meeting of our Foreign Ministers in April.*
Additionally,Mr.Stoltenberg made a number of interesting comments in response to reporters' questions:
We are,of course,concerned by what we see as an effort by Iran to destabilise countries in the region.This is something many Allies in NATO have raised several times,and,of course,that's just adding arguments for us to continue to support and provide increased support to the Iraqi government.
We have just agreed a new defence capacity-building package with Jordan.Jordan is a highly valued Partner.Jordan is a kind of island of stability in a sea of instability in the region.NATO has been working with Jordan for many,many,many years,and a part of the defence capacity-building package we just agreed is this Crisis Management Centre in Jordan,where several Allies have announced that they are going to provide personnel support to use this Centre as a new tool in helping and supporting Jordan.We also have had different training activities at the King Abdullah Training Centre,and we also do capacity-building with Jordan when it comes to Women,Peace and Security to make sure that we recognise that women have a role to play in the Armed Forces of Jordan.Let me add that Jordan has also helped us in providing support for Iraq:we have also trained some Iraqi officers at the King Abdullah Training Centre.*
We are focused on infrastructure because we want to be able to move more troops more quickly,and that's exactly why we are working with the EU to make sure the infrastructure meets the requirements which are needed to move heavy equipment across Europe.This is about roads,railroads,ports,airports and that kind of infrastructure;but it's also about making sure that we have the means of transportation,that we have the trucks and the rail cars and all the other means of transportation that we need to move.And again,we have that today;but we need to scale up,we need to have more to make sure that we have all the assets available if we need to move heavy equipment very fast across Europe.We have started this process:we have started staff-to-staff talks with the EU to analyse gaps,to have a mapping exercise,and then,based on that,we will move forward together,NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the journalists in Brussels.

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens Concerned About Exploitation

Speaking in an interview with Greece's ERT television,His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece made a number of salient remarks:
I do not see today a Europe of solidarity;but I see more every day a Europe of exploitation.We should go back to the foundations of Europe,the departure point from where we started,with the same thoughts and the same purposes.*
The role of the Church is to speak with all people,and with those responsible for the state;because the Church is not a party,and thus cooperation is needed.As to Church property,without financial support for the Church,there cannot be the intellectual work required by our times.Indeed,the Church has filed a motion for its exploitation for the benefit of the people.The Church must be free and economically independent.*
Terrorism is one of the worst effects of war.However,we need to see the other side.Who are those who lead these people to become terrorists?*
We see refugees as people in need.Their destination has to be their homeland.However,in the future we must ask ourselves,lest the refugees become a part of the exploitation of man.

SecDef Mattis Meets with NATO Secretary General at the Pentagon

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met with NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg at the Pentagon on 21 March 2017.In his welcoming remarks,Mr.Mattis said:
We have a very strong trans-Atlantic bond.It's getting stronger.Relationships don't stay the same.They're always changing.In this case,the bond is getting stronger.It's built on a legacy of common commitments and common defence,and we never forget that in this building.*
In his reply,Secretary General Stoltenberg responded by saying:
It's great to be here in Washington and to meet with you.And I also commend you for your strong personal support and leadership when it comes to NATO and the trans-Atlantic bond.I think we really saw that when you met with all the defence Allies during the Defence Ministerial meeting in Brussels.Then you expressed a strong support for the trans-Atlantic unity,the trans-Atlantic bond,and the NATO Alliance.And we are very grateful for that.
I think that in times of turmoil,in times of uncertainty,the need for strong international institutions such as NATO is even greater.So therefore we need to adapt.We need to strengthen NATO in response to the challenges and the unpredictability we see surrounding us today.*
Following their talks,Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis,US Navy,shared a readout of the meeting.The two leaders discussed the key role the Alliance plays in trans-Atlantic security and to review preparations for the upcoming special meeting of NATO heads of state and government,Captain Davis noted.They also discussed ways to encourage Allies to assume a more equitable share of Alliance security and defence responsibilities.Mr.Mattis thanked Mr.Stoltenberg for his leadership on this issue,and applauded those Allies already meeting the benchmark of spending two percent of their countrys' GDP on defence.
The two leaders also discussed NATO's role in fighting terrorism and defeating ISIL,as well as NATO's missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo.Both pledged to consult in the coming months and said they look forward to meeting again at the next NATO Defence Ministerial conference,Captain Davis added.

Orthodox Christians Were Killed in Nice Terrorist Attack

Among those killed in the recent Islamist extremist terrorist attack in Nice,France were at least three Orthodox Christians:Reader Igor Selesko of St.Nicholas Cathedral in Nice;and Natalia Otto and Roman Katalyan of Holy Nativity Church in Antwerp,Belgium.All were parishoners of the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia.May your memory be eternal,dear brothers and sister.Vechnaya pamyat.Aionia mnimi.*
Mr.Selesko was the father of four children.*
In the attack that killed 84 attendees of a Bastille Day celebration on the waterfront promenade of Nice on the night of 14 July,Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel,31,a Tunisian resident of Nice,drove a cargo lorry into a crowd and fired an automatic pistol at police,who then shot him dead.Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claimed him as a soldier of theirs,but no evidence of direct communication between them has been found yet,Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said at a 21 July press conference.Mr.Bouhlel did have five accomplices who aided him in planning and executing the attack over a period of months.They have been arrested and charged with murder;attempted murder;terrorist conspiracy;and possession and transport of weapons.*
In the aftermath of the Nice attack,the French Parliament has extended a state of emergency dating from the Paris area attacks of November 2015 that killed 130 by six months,until the end of January 2017.It allows the authorities to conduct police raids and place people under house arrest without a judge's authorisation,among other measures.

World Alert:Clams and Climate;Terrorist Funding

Clams are giving us information about what's happening in the ocean as a result of climate change.There's a lot of ups and downs in climate in particular places.You have to look at records in their totality,British scientists studying the clams say.Their research may become part of a UN report on climate change.
Clams are sensitive to climate change.They do not like warming temperatures and their reproduction is negatively affected by them,Antarctic research shows.*
The market for male skin care and grooming products in South Korea amounted to a fifth of the products' sales worldwide.It's because of the gangnam style movement and celebrity promotions in the country.The male skin care and grooming market is worth approximately 20 billion dollars globally.*
Al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab's leader,Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr,or Godane,is blaming the Kenyan government and its Western backers for their deadly attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi,whom he says have killed Somali women and children.There will be more such attacks,he warned.He is not a charismatic figure,but the 36 year old militant has a lot of power.He fought beside the Taliban when America invaded Afghanistan after the 9-11 attacks.
The charcoal industry in East Africa is possibly being exploited,along with ivory to fund the terrorism.The authorities are seeing increased elephant poaching since 2008 as the price of ivory soared.In the last 40 years,we've seen a steady level of poaching of ivory that has gone out from Kenya thorugh Somalia,and al-Shabab controls the border there,so it's a credible possibilty.*