Leavenworth Strategist

NATO air defense drills begin in the Baltics

TALLINN, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - NATO states will start in the Baltic states on Tuesday a series of air defense exercises involving Czech fighter jets, the Estonian Defense Ministry said.

The two-day drills are focused on improving air interoperability and developing NATO air forces' capabilities in defending the air space over the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The exercises will involve four Czech JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets, based at the Lithuanian Siauliai Air Base, and a U.S. C-130 Hercules military transport plane.

The exercises are a continuation of NATO's air policing drills, held last October and this April...

2nd Troop Accord Passes In Iraq

By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, December 24, 2008; A07

BAGHDAD, Dec. 23 -- Iraq's parliament on Tuesday night signed off on a security agreement that would allow thousands of British troops and a few hundred soldiers from a handful of other countries to stay in Iraq until next summer.

The approval, which was delayed by recent fights in parliament, paves the way for the Iraqi government to sign a security agreement with Britain that covers small contingents from Australia, Estonia and Romania.

Those troops will be authorized to stay in Iraq until July, and their departure will mark the end of the "coalition of the willing."

NATO opens new centre of excellence

(NATO News) Seven NATO nations and the Allied Command Transformation signed the documents for the formal establishment of a Cooperative Cyber Defence (CCD) Centre of Excellence (COE) in Tallinn, Estonia.

The centre will conduct research and training on cyber warfare and include a staff of 30 persons, half of them specialists from the sponsoring countries, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain.

“The need for a cyber defence centre to be opened today is compelling,” said General James Mattis, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, at the signing ceremony, “it will help NATO defy and successfully counter the threats in this area.”