Category: NATOSource

Russia says ready to resume NATO military ties

By Reuters

From Reuters:  Russia said on Friday it was prepared to restore military cooperation with NATO almost two years after relations were frozen during the Georgian war, Russian news agencies reported. "We are ready again to seek together responses to modern challenges and threats to international security, as well as mutually acceptable solutions to the problems […]

NATO missile defence capability passes key tests

By NATO

From NATO:  On 19 July, the Head of the NATO theatre missile defence programme announced that NATO’s first ever theatre missile defence capability had passed key tests, and that it is on schedule to be available to NATO commanders at the end of 2010. General Alessandro Pera, Head of the Programme, made the statement following […]

The F-35 fighter and Canada’s international commitments

By Andre Gerolymatos, the Vancouver Sun

From Andre Gerolymatos, the Vancouver Sun:  Fundamentally, the Canadian Air Force has not only commitments to NATO but also to Norad (North American Aerospace Defence Command). Beyond the obvious advantages in advanced technology that the sub-contracting of the construction of the F-35 will yield for Canadian companies, Canada’s warplanes must be able to keep up […]

Brother of deposed Kyrgyz president confesses to role in ethnic conflict

By Peter Leonard and Aizada Kutuyeva, the AP

From Peter Leonard and Aizada Kutuyeva, the AP:  Police in Kyrgyzstan have detained a brother of deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, authorities said Thursday — the latest effort to solidify control over the country’s tense south and dismantle the former leader’s entourage.

NATO’s Economy of Scale

By Ivo Daalder, the International Herald Tribune

From Ivo Daalder, the International Herald Tribune:  Sixty-one years after it was created to defend Europe, NATO is busier than ever. Its forces are deployed in the largest operation in its history, 130,000 strong, to fight a violent insurgency, train local police and army forces and keep the peace in Afghanistan, some 5,000 kilometers from […]

France says too soon to talk of Afghan pullout

By Reuters

U.N. Court Rules Kosovo Declaration Was Legal

By Dan Bilefsky, the New York Times

From Dan Bilefsky, the New York Times:  Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 did not violate international law, the United Nations’ highest court said Thursday in a ruling that Kosovo heralded as a victory but that legal experts warned could spur separatist movements around the world.

Fox: ‘what do Challenger tanks in Germany… contribute to what’s happening in Afghanistan?’

By the Telegraph

From the Telegraph:  In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, [British Defence Secretary Liam] Fox said the dire state of the public finances meant the Armed Forces could no longer be equipped to cover every conceivable danger.

Britain’s MoD looks at cutting 30,000 troops

By Alex Barker and James Blitz, the Financial Times

From Alex Barker and James Blitz, the Financial Times:  Military planners are examining cutting Britain’s land forces from eight to five brigades, in a radical restructuring option that would hand the army operational command of the Royal Marines. The proposed overhaul, which would slash army numbers by up to 30,000, is an extreme scenario that […]

Britain’s coalition government attacked over withdrawal plans

By Alex Barker, James Blitz, and George Parker, the Financial Times