Category: NATOSource

Obama: “We will never let this country serve as a safe haven for terrorists who will attack the United States of America again.”

By Ben Feller, the AP

From Ben Feller, the AP:  President Barack Obama told U.S. troops during a surprise holiday-season visit that they are making important progress in the war, and he pledged that Afghanistan would never again be a "safe haven for terrorists" who want to attack the United States.

Clinton Moves to Ease Tensions on Kyrgyz Base

By Mark Landler, the New York Times

Cables Discuss “Nefarious Connection” between Berlusconi and Putin

By Jim Heintz and Alessandra Rizzo,  the AP

From Jim Heintz and Alessandra Rizzo,  the AP:  The cable most critical of [Italian Prime Minister Silvio] Berlusconi from the U.S. Embassy in Rome portrays him as essentially acting as a European mouthpiece for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.

Why it’s so hard for NATO to train Afghan forces

By Julius Cavendish, the Christian Science Monitor

From Julius Cavendish, the Christian Science Monitor:  Corruption, drug addiction, and too many Afghan deserters, make handing over power a daunting task, say NATO officials and Western diplomats.

European missile defense system either with Russia or against Russia – NATO envoy

By RIA Novosti

Cables Reveal NATO Split over Russia

By Andrew Rettman, the EUobserver

From Andrew Rettman, the EUobserver:  One cable dealing with an extraordinary meeting of Nato ambassadors in Brussels on 12 August ran with the sub-heading: "Nato allies lack cohesion during first meeting on Georgia crisis."

Cables Praise French Friend With ‘Mercurial’ Side

By Katrin Bennhold, the New York Times

From Katrin Bennhold, the New York Times:  President Nicolas Sarkozy is an unusually solid French friend of America. He is also a “mercurial” man operating in “a zone of monarch-like impunity&rdquobreak–>; surrounded by advisers often too fearful to give honest counsel, according to leaked cables from the United States Embassy in Paris. “Élysée contacts have […]

A Swiss Alternative to Competing Visions of Europe’s Future?

By Kenneth Weisbrode, the Diplomatic Courier

From Kenneth Weisbrode, the Diplomatic Courier:  Calls for the transformation of Europe into something resembling a larger version of Switzerland have grown louder of late. Although European “neutrality” was a periodic Cold War bugbear, it now seems less offensive. Who would object to a prosperous, peaceful, stable and relatively liberal, multilingual polity? … The reason […]

Al Jazeera Questions the Lisbon Summit and NATO “Expansion”

By Al Jazeera

From Al Jazeera:  Is this alliance anything more than a fig leaf for US foreign policy? And what sort of relationship can it strike with reinvigorated Russia?

Romania: What NATO means for us

NATO has released new videos on YouTube providing national perspectives on the Alliance.