Leavenworth Strategist

NATO Chief Proposes Linked US/Russian/NATO Defense

By ROBERT WIELAARD (AP)

BRUSSELS — The head of NATO called Friday for the U.S., Russia and NATO to link their missile defense systems against potential new nuclear threats from Asia and the Middle East, saying that the old foes must forget their lingering Cold War animosity.

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen appealed for unity a day after the U.S. shelved a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile defense shield that has been a major irritant in relations with Russia.

"We should explore the potential for linking the US, NATO and Russia missile defense systems at an appropriate time," Fogh Rasmussen said. "Both NATO and Russia have a wealth of experience in missile defense. We should now work to combine this experience to our mutual benefit."

Fogh Rasmussen said in a speech calling for a rethink of NATO-Russia relations that long-range ballistic missile technology in the hands of such countries as North Korea and Iran threatens the West and Russia in large part because it could lead to regional proliferation...

French General Takes Over Senior NATO Job

By Lisa Bryant (VOA) Paris, 10 September 2009

For the first time in NATO  history, one of the alliance's supreme commanders is from a country other than the United States. Air Force general Stephane Abrial of France has taken over the job of Supreme Allied Commander Transformation for NATO.

French general Stephane Abrial takes over as supreme allied commander in Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States, just months after President Nicolas Sarkozy France announced his country would rejoin the NATO military command more than 40 years after leaving it.

At a NATO summit in Strasbourg, France, earlier this year, Mr. Sarkozy discussed France's return and assured fellow leaders that France was part of the same NATO family. Everyone can count on France, he said - and France knows it can count on its NATO allies.

The Norfolk position is one of two top command posts promised to France when it rejoined the alliance. Another Frenchman now heads a NATO command in Lisbon. General Abrial takes over the Virginia post from U.S. marine general James Mattis. The French general is the first non-US commander assuming a top NATO command in the alliance's history...

 

US, NATO Military Commander Offers Review on Afghanistan

By VOA News 31 August 2009

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has completed a months-long strategy review and delivered his assessment to U.S. and NATO officials.

U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal says the situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and strategic changes must be made.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the assessment does not include specific requests for more troops, but U.S. President Barack Obama and NATO leaders could discuss the issue later.

Whitman said the review is being viewed as a confidential military assessment, and there are no plans to release it to the public.

President Obama had called for the U.S. strategy review in Pakistan and Afghanistan to battle a growing insurgency of Taliban and al-Qaida militants...

Generals Discuss NATO Role in Afghan Elections

By Judith Snyderman
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2009 – The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan is supporting Afghan security forces’ efforts to secure polling centers, reduce the effects of insurgents and counter voter apathy in some regions in advance of tomorrow’s presidential and provincial council elections. 

“We are doing everything we can in conjunction with our Afghan partners to provide the very best security arrangements, and we’ve worked hard to reassure the local Afghan communities that they should take part in the election process,” Australian Brig. Gen. Damian Cantwell, chief of ISAF’s election task force, said yesterday during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable.

Cantwell described some of the measures ISAF has taken, including taking part in a day-long security rehearsal and sending representatives to meet with local election planners.

“We’ve gone out to each location, we’ve listened to their joint security planning supported by ISAF, [and] we’ve asked them quite telling questions about how they are going to execute the security plan on the day,” said Cantwell, who added he is impressed with what he has seen. “What we are talking about here is a team of security professionals who have demonstrated a very strong desire to do the very best for their people.”

Cantwell and Canadian Brig. Gen. Eric Tremblay, an ISAF spokesman, said they expect the recent spike in insurgent activity to continue. But Tremblay noted that while insurgents have averaged 32 attacks a day for the past 10 days, they can’t disrupt 6,500 polling stations throughout Afghanistan.  

“Clearly, when you look at those numbers, they don’t have the capacity to intimidate and prevent the 15 million Afghan voters that have been registered for these elections,” Tremblay said...

(Judith Snyderman works in the Defense Media Activity’s emerging media directorate.)

 

NATO Approves Intermediate Headquarters for Afghanistan

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2009 – NATO has approved the idea of an intermediate military headquarters in Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said today.

The headquarters is a corps-level organization that will oversee the tactical, day-to-day operations in the country.

U.S. officials would like to see Army Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, deputy commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan in the post.

The new headquarters would allow the four-star commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, to concentrate on the big-picture parts of the conflict, including building relationships and coordinating with the Afghan and Pakistani governments, as well as as nongovernmental and international agencies, and overseeing training for Afghan security forces.

The intermediate headquarters would coordinate NATO and allied efforts in Afghanistan where about 64,500 servicemembers from 42 nations serve in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force. Nearly 30,000 of that total are American. An additional 28,000 Americans are serving in Afghanistan outside of ISAF.

Most of the troops assigned to the intermediate headquarters would come from the U.S. Army’s 5th Corps based in Germany, officials said. Still, other NATO and NATO-allied nations would contribute to manning the organization.

The command arrangement is similar to that used by coalition forces in Iraq, with a four-star Multinational Force Iraq commander and a three-star Multinational Corps Iraq commander working together...

NATO Chief Wants More Troops In Afghanistan

LONDON (Reuters) - NATO's new secretary-general made a direct call for more troops in Afghanistan on Friday and said training of Afghan forces also needed to be escalated.

"Honestly speaking, I think we need more troops," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Danish prime minister who took over as head of NATO this month, said from Kabul.

"I have seen progress in the south (of Afghanistan), not least thanks to the increase in the number of troops, so definitely the number of troops matters," he told BBC radio.

General Abrial to Supreme Allied Commander Transformation

(NATO) NATO today announced the appointment of General Stéphane Abrial to the post of Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. General Abrial is currently Chief of Staff of the French Air Force.

He will take up his new duties on 9 September 2009 at a change of command ceremony to be held at Headquarters Supreme Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, United States...

Russia rejects anti-piracy efforts under NATO, EU command - envoy

MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russian military ships will not be involved in anti-piracy operations under the command of NATO or the European Union, Russia's permanent envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday.

Russia is a member of the coalition of 16 countries, which are currently involved in anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia.

"As far as [the fight against] piracy is concerned, why should our ships be under foreign military command? We will not operate under the command of the European Union, we will not take part in NATO operations," Dmitry Rogozin told the Ekho Moskvy radio station.

Top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Shares Strategy

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

KABUL, July 16, 2009 – Patience and time are keys to success in Afghanistan, the commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan told reporters here yesterday.

Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal discussed his views on what it will take to bring and maintain security in Afghanistan and the importance of helping the Afghans establish governance throughout the provinces.

McChrystal became commander of U.S. and international forces in the country last month at a time of increased violence. President Barack Obama nominated him to replace Army Gen. David McKiernan due to McChrystal’s counterinsurgency success in Iraq and his special operations background.

As NATO’s International Security Assistance Force commander here, McChrystal is expected to be in Afghanistan for around 24 months...

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...

US seeks European funds, troops for Afghanistan

By Patrick Rahir 
BERLIN (AFP) — Europe must commit more funds and troops to stabilise Afghanistan after the August presidential elections or risk staying in the country indefinitely, the US envoy to NATO Ivo Daalder said Wednesday.

"The US is doing its part -- Europe and Germany can and should do more," Daalder told a conference on transatlantic relations in Berlin.

"Additional troops (sent to Afghanistan to provide security during the elections) must stay after the elections."

Daalder said the United States estimated 17 billion dollars was needed to train and equip the Afghan army and two billion dollars per year to sustain it.

"There is no way Afghanistan can pay for its force," he said, noting that the Afghan government had taken in about 750 million dollars in revenues last year.

He said the United States would pay 5.5 billion dollars this year and 7.5 billion dollars next year but said it was crucial that Europe make up the difference.

NATO on The Boardwalk: Allies Chill Out At Afghan Base

June 25, 2009

By REUTERS

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Down on the boardwalk, a knot of Romanian soldiers are sitting under the umbrellas at the French patisserie, sipping non-alcoholic Becks beer in the shade.

At Tom Horton's, the Canadian donut place, U.S. airmen are drinking coffee, surfing on the wireless internet on their laptops and listening to Beyonce on British Forces Radio.

The only people sitting in the scorching sun are the bright pink British officers, a dazzling glare shining off one sweaty bald pate.

Super-secret special forces guys stroll by, glowering coolly in baggy shorts, T-shirts and floppy sun hats, "under cover" in their tell-tale woolly beards.

Welcome to Kandahar Air Field, or KAF, the most cosmopolitan NATO base ever assembled inside a combat zone, where troops from a host of countries relax after missions on a boardwalk that feels like a multi-national beachside resort.

The United States and many of its allies have been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghanistan and, to a lesser degree Iraq, for almost eight years.

In both war zones, large bases are usually run by a single country, bringing restaurants, shops and amenities to make the troops feel like home.

But the headquarters for NATO forces in southern Afghanistan is a bona fide alliance mish-mash.

Command rotates every nine months between generals from the Netherlands, Britain and Canada. Troops from more than a dozen countries work here full time...

Turks to NATO: Let’s get it right

by Serkan Demirtaş ISTANBUL (Hürriyet) - Turkey says the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan, referred to collectively as Afpak, should be considered separate cases with separate solutions. 'Analysis made for Afghanistan cannot be applicable to Pakistan,' a senior official says. Turkey has expressed this view to NATO, the EU and the US and will work to influence policy in the region

 Amid new initiatives to deal with the growing problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Turkey is readying to roll up its sleeves to guide international efforts toward a more sound policy regarding the region.

Despite its support for the United States-led approach to resolving issues in the troubled region, Turkey has objected to the generalization of the countries’ problems, saying, "One size does not always fit all."

"Analysis made for Afghanistan cannot be applicable to Pakistan. We have no problem with the use of the word ’Afpak,’ but one should not forget the differences between these two countries," a senior foreign ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

NATO begins Georgia military exercises

By James Blitz in London (Financial Times)

About 1,000 troops and government officials on Wednesday began taking part in Nato-led military exercises in Georgia that Russia condemned as "muscle flexing", but which the western alliance insists are no threat to any state in the region.

The exercises take place a day after Georgia said ithad quelled a mutiny at an army base which it claimed was part of a Kremlin-orchestrated plot to disrupt the Nato event.

The exercises involve personnel from the 28 Nato members and from regional states that are not formally part of the alliance but co-operate with it under its "partnership for peace" programme.

They are being held at a former Russian air force base east of Tbilisi and a few kilometres from the Mukhrovani base, where the government said tank commanders had rebelled on Tuesday.

Although described by the media as a "war game", Nato officials say it falls short of that. A first phase of the exercise, involving 650 officials, involves simulating a "crisis response" at a Georgian army base east of Tbilisi...

NATO To Give Russia Early Warning

(The Norway Post) NATO members Norway, Poland and Turkey are to set up a radar system which will give Russia early warning about possible threats from abroad. In return, Russia will provide NATO with information of similar possible threats against NATO. 

A spokesman for the Polish defence department says the headquarter for the new radar system will be located in Warsaw.

According to the Polish newspaper Dziennik, the new radar network will gather information from the three nations' radar stations and inform Russia about possible threats from the air.

NATO troop commander says battle in southern Afghanistan will be pivotal

(The Canadian Press) KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's future will be decided by the crucial battle for control of the southern part of the country where Canadian troops are located, a top NATO commander said Monday.

"The international community clearly realizes that the main military effort is in southern Afghanistan, so you need to concentrate the bulk of your forces there," Maj.-Gen. Mart de Kruif said in an interview.

"If you talk about successful elections or winning the counter-insurgency, it will be decided in southern Afghanistan."

De Kruif, who has been head of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the region since last November, predicted the arrival of 17,000 U.S. troops in the area would be a major boost for coalition forces, including Canada's, in the ongoing battle for Kandahar.

"Kandahar is the most important city," he said. "I would even say perhaps more important than Kabul, based on the history of Kandahar and its position. It is essential."

Russia's NATO envoy accuses alliance of interference in Georgia

April 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's NATO envoy claimed on Tuesday that plans by the alliance to hold military exercises in the former Soviet republic were an attempt at interference in Georgia's internal affairs.

The Cooperative Longbow/Lancer - 2009 drills are due to take place at Georgia's Vaziani military base from May 3 through June 3. Some 900 service personnel from 23 NATO member nations and the alliance's partners are to take part in the drills, to be held under NATO's Partnership for Peace program.

"NATO is trying to interfere in Georgia's affairs in this way," Dmitry Rogozin told RIA Novosti, adding that the exercises were an expression of support for beleaguered Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, and "a challenge" to the newly independent South Ossetia and Abkhazia. He also claimed that Russia would be forced to react.

The envoy also said that any attempt to encourage "the Saakashvili regime" showed gross disregard towards those people "sacrificed on the altar of his Napoleonic ambitions."

NATO pledges more troops for Afghanistan, but not combat forces

LA Times By Henry Chu (April 5, 2009)

Reporting from Strasbourg, France -- NATO announced Saturday that it would send about 5,000 additional troops and trainers to Afghanistan, a boost that President Obama hailed as "a strong down payment on the future of our mission" there, but one that failed to include the combat forces Washington had sought...

 

The new NATO troops will include 3,000 soldiers on temporary assignment to assist in securing national elections scheduled for August. The remainder will provide training for the Afghan army, to encourage its transformation from a ragtag band into a professional, well-equipped military.

NATO Secretary General: “NATO must not be involved in Nagorno Karabakh problem”

Strasbourg. Fuad Gulubeyli–APA.

On April 2, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer engaged in an open debate in Strasbourg with young people from almost 60 nations about "NATO in 2020: What Lies Ahead", APA correspondent reports from Strasbourg. Following his report, the NATO Secretary General answered the questions of the students, including what the Armenian student asked about the Armenia’s integration to NATO, solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict and opening of Turkish-Armenian borders. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer highly appreciated NATO-Armenian relationship. “We are working together with Armenia within the Partnership for Peace Program. Regarding the solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict, I don’t think that NATO has a decisive role in this issue. Our organization is not involved in this issue. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict is solved within the OSCE Minsk Group. I also took interest in the solution of this problem while working as foreign minister and OSCE chairman-in-office”.

The Secretary General said recently there was progress in the issue of opening the Turkish-Armenian borders and he hoped that the two countries could improve their relations.

NATO Turns 60; Reflects Past; Defines Future

(Voice of America) By Sonja Pace, Brussels, 30 March 2009

Founded in the aftermath of World War II and at the onset of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization bound together western European countries, Canada and the United States to safeguard each other's security against the rising threat of the Soviet Union. Much has changed - the Soviet Union is no more, and NATO has expanded eastward.

Fighting pirates off the coast of Somalia and insurgents in the mountains of Afghanistan may not be what NATO founders had in mind 60 years ago. But that is what the alliance faces today.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has about 60,000 troops under its command in Afghanistan and more are on the way.

NATO leaders deadlocked over new secretary-general

By SLOBODAN LEKIC and SELCAN HACAOGLU 

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — NATO deadlocked Saturday over the choice of a new secretary-general after Turkey blocked the candidacy of a Dane who angered Muslims by defending the right to print cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, officials said.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was seen as the front-runner but he infuriated many Muslims by defending freedom of speech during an uproar over a Danish newspaper's publication of the cartoons in 2006. He has also angered Turkey by opposing its membership in the European Union...

Croatia, Albania newest NATO members

BRUSSELS, April 2 (UPI) -- NATO Thursday welcomed Albania and Croatia into its family, just in time for the alliance's 60th anniversary.

The addition of the two Balkan countries marks only the sixth time the organization has expanded its membership, bringing to 28 the number of allies that will celebrate six decades since the North Atlantic Treaty was endorsed at an April 4, 1949, ceremony in Washington, the Defense Department said...

France officially asks to rejoin NATO command

By LAURENT PIROT – Mar 20, 2009

PARIS (AP) — President Nicolas Sarkozy has submitted a formal request to rejoin the NATO command structure following a 43-year absence, French and NATO officials said Friday.

A letter with the request was presented Thursday to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer during an EU summit in Brussels, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Submitting the letter was a formality, but an essential step in France's return to the alliance — which celebrates its 60th birthday in two weeks.

The NATO official said the alliance must now decide what sort of command posts France will take up.

Upon fully returning to NATO, France expects to receive two command posts — one in Norfolk, Virginia, responsible for defining the strategic transformation of the alliance, and another in Lisbon, Portugal.

British defense minister blasts NATO over force

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - British Defense Secretary John Hutton on Thursday blasted NATO's inability to fully fund a rapid response force of 25,000 troops, and said the alliance needed a "radical transformation" to adapt to new threats.

Failure to provide adequate resources for the NATO Response Force amounted to "a standing indictment" of NATO, but a rapid deployment force proposed by Britain would be much smaller and more attainable, Hutton said in an address to a Washington-based think tank.

Britain has been pressing for 26 NATO defense ministers to agree at a summit next month to create a small NATO rapid deployment force to defend mainland Europe and free troops for duty in Afghanistan. The proposed force would have 1,500 troops ready for deployment and 1,500 in training.

NATO ships in new anti-piracy mission (Allied Protector)

BRUSSELS (AFP) — NATO warships will be in position next week to conduct a new anti-piracy operation in a major world shipping area off the coast of Somalia, the alliance's chief spokesman said Wednesday.

"NATO ambassadors have now approved the operational plan for the deployment of the standing naval maritime group one to conduct counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia," spokesman James Appathurai told reporters.

He said that seven ships -- one each from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, with two vessels from Germany -- would exit the Suez Canal on March 19...

French gov't to face no-confidence vote over NATO

(International Herald Tribune) The Associated Press

Thursday, March 5, 2009

PARIS: France's conservative government will face a no-confidence vote in parliament later this month over contested plans to return France to NATO's military command, the prime minister said Thursday.

In a letter to leaders of the leftist opposition in both houses of parliament, Francois Fillon offered to submit his government to a confidence motion after a legislative debate over France's relations with NATO on March 17.

NATO 60th anniversary summit to focus on Alliance security

(World News Forecast) FRANCE/GERMANY 3-4 Apr 2009.  Though relations between them are strained, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will co-host the 60th anniversary NATO summit. Symbolically, it will be held in the French border city of Strasbourg and its German neighbor, Kehl. Sarkozy is expected to announce at the summit whether France will rejoin the Alliance's integrated military command in 2009, more than 40 years after Gen. Charles de Gaulle pulled his country out.

NATO expects to see a Declaration on Alliance Security ready for adoption at the Summit. According to the Alliance, the document and the summit will underscore the enduring importance of the transatlantic link, and "provide an opportunity to further articulate and strengthen the Alliance’s vision of its role in meeting the evolving challenges of the 21st century and maintaining the ability to perform the full range of its missions."

U.S., NATO Have ‘Unity of Purpose’ in Afghan Mission, Clinton Says

By John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2009 – U.S. and NATO allies showed “unity of purpose” during discussions about their shared mission in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday.

Following a meeting with NATO officials in Brussels, Belgium, Clinton said there was broad agreement among allies to ensure safe Afghan elections in August, boost economic development there and take a regional approach that includes Pakistan.

“We expressed a unity of purpose with respect to Afghanistan, NATO's most important ongoing operation,” she said. “In Afghanistan and in the border regions of Pakistan, we face a common threat, we have a common challenge, and we share a common responsibility.”

Participants at the meeting acknowledged a need for more resources and personnel in the region, said Clinton, whose trip comes a week before Vice President Joe Biden is expected to discuss future NATO contributions with allies in Brussels...

New Troops to Be Deployed to Secure Afghan Elections

By VOA News
23 February 2009

The deputy commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan says he is confident member states will send thousands of extra troops needed to bolster security for presidential elections in August.

Lieutenant General Jim Dutton told reporters Monday "we are talking about thousands" of soldiers, but he added "not many thousands." He explained they will be used to provide extra mobile forces on one or two days for the August 20 polls.

Dutton also said NATO is confident they will get what they have asked for.

NATO allies reluctant to increase Afghan presence

International Herald Tribune/The Associated Press, Friday, February 20, 2009

KRAKOW, Poland: NATO defense ministers concluded two days of talks here Friday with indications that few allies were willing to offer significant numbers of additional combat troops for Afghanistan but that they might seek to compensate by deploying more civilians to train local security forces and build the country's economy.

The announcement this week that the Obama administration would send 17,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan by the summer was met with formal offers from allies numbering only in the hundreds of fresh troops of their own.

Russia links Afghanistan help to better NATO ties

MOSCOW, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Russia could help NATO re-supply its forces in Afghanistan if the alliance restores contacts with Moscow that were put on hold over the war with Georgia, a senior Russian envoy was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Ambassadors from the alliance's 26 members and Russia will meet in a joint council on Monday for the first time since NATO suspended the sessions in protest at what it called Russia's "disproportionate" use of force against Georgia last August.

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to NATO, for the first time made an explicit link between the restoration of ties and giving the alliance transit routes across Russia and neighbouring states to ship supplies into Afghanistan.

NATO Nations Scolded for Shirking Duties In Afghanistan

By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 16, 2009; A16

Britain's defense chief yesterday sharply criticized NATO's other European members for failing to do their part in Afghanistan, saying some of them had "limited appetites" for the operation and preferred "freeloading on the back of U.S. military security."

The assessment by British Defense Secretary John Hutton followed what one Pentagon official called a "disappointing" response this week to a request from NATO headquarters for additional troops and other resources to provide security for Afghanistan's elections this fall...

ISAF satisfied with transport supplies from Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Jan 9 (APP):  An ISAF spokesman in Afghanistan Captain  Mark Windsor said on Thursday that NATO forces were happy with transport supplies from Pakistan.

Talking to private TV, he said “ We are very happy with our supply coming through Pakistan.

He said Pakistani security forces were launching  military operation in the region of Peshawar to try to help make safe passage for our supplies.

He said there were challenges but they were happy with the support being provided by Pakistan.

NATO, Russia Meet for First Time After Georgia Invasion

(VOA News) By Lisa Bryant, Paris,19 December 2008

NATO and Russia held their first high-level talks Friday since Moscow invaded Georgia in August, sparking international criticism.

The lunchtime talks took place between NATO's secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Russia's ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin. NATO suspended its special relationship with Moscow - a framework known as the NATO-Russia Council - after the Georgian conflict four months ago. But earlier this month, NATO foreign ministers agreed to slowly resume dialogue with Russia...

Ex-Soviet military pact urges NATO cooperation

MOSCOW (AP) - The worsening situation in Afghanistan warrants more cooperation between NATO and a Russian-led military organization, the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization said Friday.
The CSTO links Russia with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, serving as a tool for Moscow to preserve clout in its former Soviet backyard.
«The situation in Afghanistan is quite complex, and there is a trend toward its deterioration,» its head, Nikolai Bordyuzha, said at a briefing.
Russia in April agreed to allow NATO to transport non-lethal supplies overland to its forces in Afghanistan, and Russian officials said the deal still stands despite freezing of Russia-NATO ties over the Russian-Georgian war.
Bordyuzha said that transit of cargo for NATO troops could be one of the areas of cooperation between the alliance and the CSTO...

Foreign Ministers review progress (Mediterranean Dialogue)

(NATO) NATO Foreign Ministers met with their Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) partners during a ministerial working lunch on 2 December. This was the third meeting of the NATO Foreign Ministers in the framework of the MD, following those which took place in December 2004 and 2007 in Brussels.

Ministers agreed that political and practical dimensions of the Mediterranean Dialogue should proceed in parallel.

Since the Istanbul Summit, the enhanced political dimension has gained both in regularity and substance: in addition to the Foreign Ministers meetings, there have also been two meetings of MD Defense Ministers in Taormina in February 2006 and in Seville in February 2007.

During their 2 December meetings, Ministers discussed the security situation in the region, with Ministers Tzipi Livni and Abou Gheit offering their insights into the follow up to the Annapolis process, as also did a number of NATO Foreign Ministers including Secretary of State Rice who attended her last MD Ministerial meeting...

NATO Looking For Alternative Routes To Support Afghan Operations

(RFE/RL) NATO says it is interested in finding alternative routes to supply its troops stationed in Afghanistan.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that talks with Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the majority of Central Asian countries about possible railway routes to Afghanistan are under way.

Appathurai said the issue cannot be solved quickly. But he add that there are only technical, not political issues, to be resolved.

The project, called "Lines of Communications," has been under discussion for almost two years.

NATO calls for more troops as Afghan insurgency heats up

MONS, Belgium (AFP) — NATO commanders in Afghanistan need more troops and equipment to combat the Taliban, the alliance's top officer warned Monday, as insurgent attacks mount in southern and eastern regions.

US General John Craddock said that, based on a new assessment, the commanders would need three military brigades -- around 10,000 troops -- on top of the single brigade the United States is set to deploy in January.

NATO not considering Somali naval blockade

BRUSSELS (AFP) — NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Monday that the alliance is not considering any naval blockade as a way to combat piracy off Somalia, after maritime groups urged international action.

"Blocking ports is not contemplated by NATO," he told reporters, adding that such action has not been endorsed by the UN Security Council. "This is, at the moment, not in the cards."

NATO has four ships -- from Britain, Greece, Italy and Turkey -- on patrol in the waters off Somalia, with two protecting UN food aid convoys to the strife-torn Horn of Africa country.

NATO says still backs plan for U.S. missile shield

By David Brunnstrom, BRUSSELS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - NATO reaffirmed on Monday its backing for a planned U.S. missile shield in Europe after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it would bring no extra security on the continent.

NATO leaders including Sarkozy welcomed U.S. plans to deploy the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic as a "substantial contribution to the protection of allies" at a summit in Bucharest last April.

NATO’s Lifeline to Afghanistan Threatened

(Weeklystandard.com) Over the weekend, the Pakistani government closed down the vital border crossing to Afghanistan in the Khyber tribal agency. The decision was made after the Taliban hijacked and looted a convoy of vehicles transporting supplies and two Humvees to NATO forces in Afghanistan. The crossing was reopened today after Pakistan said it would provide military escorts for the convoys.

Attacks on NATO convoys have risen dramatically the past month. More than 70 percent of NATO’s supplies pass through Khyber, making this route the key supply line for our forces in Afghanistan. With the Taliban insurgency in Pakistan’s northwest worsening, NATO’s main supply route will increasingly be threatened.

Deputy [NATO] Secretary General underlines the need for comprehensive approach

A “comprehensive approach to today’s risks and threats” is a key characteristic of NATO today, the Alliance's Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero said during a keynote address at the Forum on Euro-Atlantic Security in Krakow, Poland.

Elections 'vital': new NATO chief south Afghanistan

By RNW Security and Defence specialist Hans de Vreij*

The new Dutch commander of international forces in southern Afghanistan says the most important measure of success is not fighting the Taliban but ensuring that next year's general election is free, fair and peaceful. Major General Mart de Kruif will take over as commander of NATO forces on 1 November.

Major General De Kruif will spend a year devoting himself to a range of tasks including stopping the armed insurgency against the central government in Kabul, helping to set up reconstruction projects and ensuring good governance in the region. 

NATO warships ready to tackle piracy off Somalia

BRUSSELS, October 24, 2008 (AFP) - NATO warships are in place off the Somali coast to tackle rampant piracy in the waters, and are ready to escort UN aid vessels under threat, a spokesman for the alliance's naval command said Friday.

 

"The boats are in the area. They have started their deterrent role," a spokesman at NATO's naval command in Naples, Italy said by telephone, adding that the three vessels "would escort UN ships on request".

 

The ships -- an Italian destroyer and British and Greek frigates which form NATO's operation Allied Provider -- "may use force" under their rules of engagement and in line with international law, a statement said.

 

They will help escort UN World Food Programme (WFP) food shipments, whose cargo is a tempting target for pirates, until the European Union can launch its own operation, probably in December.

NATO steps up counter-narcotics efforts

(NATO News) Based on the request of the Afghan government, the Alliance will look at ways to enhance its contributions in the fight against narcotics, said NATO Secretary General at a press conference in Budapest, Hungary, on 10 October.

“Based on the request of the Afghan government, consistent with the appropriate United Nations Security Council resolutions, under the existing operational plan, ISAF can act in concert with the Afghans against facilitaties and facilitators supporting the insurgency, in the context of counternarcotics, subject to authorization of respective nations”, he declared.

NATO’s operations in Afghanistan were discussed during a two-day informal meeting of Defence Ministers with invitees (Albania and Croatia) and non-NATO ISAF contributing nations in Budapest, Hungary, on 9-10 October 2008.

Gates Seeks European Troops for Afghanistan

By Peter Finn
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 9, 2008; A15

OHRID, Macedonia, Oct. 8 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Wednesday asked defense ministers from southeastern Europe to send more troops to Afghanistan, a message that he is likely to forcefully echo at a meeting with other NATO defense officials this week.

"As the situation on the ground in Iraq continues to improve, I urge you to consider sending your military forces to Afghanistan, where there is an urgent need for trainers as they expand their army," Gates said at a meeting of the South-Eastern Europe Defense Ministerial, a 12-member organization composed of NATO members and countries such as Macedonia that want to join the military alliance.

Russia-Georgia Rift Prompts Questions About NATO’s Future Role

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2008 – Russia’s attack on Georgia, the first invasion orchestrated by Moscow since the end of the Soviet Union, raises questions about NATO’s future role in the region, defense officials said.

“We have heretofore, since NATO began to enlarge in the '90s, operated in an environment where the presumption was that Russia was a partner for NATO, not an adversary,” Eric S. Edelman, undersecretary of defense for policy, said last week . “Unfortunately, Russia's behavior in the last month has now called that into question. And that's going to have to be reassessed,” he said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

Former EU Envoy Calls for Review of Goals and Strategy in Afghanistan

Voice of America (VOA) By Gary Thomas, Washington, 24 September 2008

The European Union's former top diplomat to Afghanistan says the international community should review its aims and activities to stave off possible disaster there. Francesc Vendrell, who recently stepped down as the EU's Special Envoy to Afghanistan, talked with VOA correspondent Gary Thomas, who has this report.

In an exclusive VOA interview, Francesc Vendrell called for a comprehensive review of international strategy and objectives in Afghanistan.

US Defense Secretary in Afghanistan as Top Commander Calls for More Troops

By Al Pessin (VOA), Kabul, 16 September 2008

As U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Kabul Tuesday, the top U.S. and NATO commander there said he needs well over 10,000 more troops, in addition to several thousand President Bush announced last week. The commander, Army General David McKiernan, also announced he has issued new orders, stressing the need to avoid civilian casualties, in the wake of several controversial U.S. air strikes that have killed dozens of Afghan civilians in recent weeks. VOA's Al Pessin reports from Kabul.

General McKiernan told reporters at his headquarters here that he needs more troops, and not a temporary increase like the one that recently ended in Iraq. "I don't like to use the word 'surge' for Afghanistan because I think what we need are increased capabilities on a sustained basis," he said.

Gates Urges Cautious NATO Stance on Russia After Georgia Conflict

By THOM SHANKER (New York Times)

LONDON — With NATO divided over how to respond to a newly assertive Russia, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that he would urge alliance ministers meeting here to adopt a cautious and deliberate approach that would reassure newer members along the Russian border without provoking hostilities.

Mr. Gates has said he does not anticipate any armed Russian incursions into the territory of NATO member countries, but said Moscow was more likely to pursue strategies of “pressure and intimidation,” including restricting its supplies of oil and gas, on which Europe depends.