Category: NATOSource

Future RAF missions under threat if Libyan intervention continues

By Thomas Harding, the Telegraph

From Thomas Harding, the Telegraph:  Air Chief Marshal Sir Simon Bryant has told MPs that intense air operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East are placing a “huge” demand on equipment and personnel. In a briefing paper delivered to senior politicians and obtained by The Daily Telegraph, the RAF’s second in command said morale among […]

Obama to announce Wednesday size of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

By Julie Pace, the AP

From Julie Pace, the AP:  President Barack Obama will announce the critical next steps in America’s decade-long war in Afghanistan on Wednesday, outlining both a plan to start bringing thousands of U.S. troops home next month and a broader withdrawal blueprint

Stop the Europe-bashing

By Anne Penketh, the Hill

From Anne Penketh, the Hill:  It’s open season on the Europeans at the moment. Following the lead of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who delivered a stiff warning to NATO the other day, everyone has been piling on.

Update: NATO activities in Libya on June 19

By NATO

Is NATO going out of business?

By Patrick Buchanan, the Miami Herald

From Patrick Buchanan, the Miami Herald:  [Secretary of Defense Robert] Gates’ patience with the Europeans is, understandably, just about exhausted.

Update: NATO activities in Libya on June 18

By NATO

NATO acknowledges civilian casualties in Tripoli strike

By NATO

From NATO:  NATO says that a military missile site was the intended target of air strikes in Tripoli last night. However, it appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target and that there may have been a weapons system failure which may have caused a number of civilian casualties.  “NATO regrets the loss […]

Gates’s parting shot exposes Europe’s military failings

By Charlemagne, the Economist

From Charlemagne, the Economist:  Three months into the war in Libya, and confident talk of Muammar Qaddafi’s forces being broken by NATO’s bombs is being accompanied by worries that the alliance itself is feeling the strain of a prolonged campaign. The British naval chief says that, if the war drags on beyond the autumn, he […]

Looking Back, Gates Says He’s Grown Wary of ‘Wars of Choice’

By Thom Shanker and Elisabeth Bumiller, the New York TImes

From Thom Shanker and Elisabeth Bumiller, the New York TImes:  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, as he prepared to depart the government for the second time, said in an interview on Friday that the human costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had made him far more wary