Category: NATOSource

German Defense Minister Answers Questions about Conscription and Multinational Units

By Spiegel interview with German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg

From Spiegel interview with German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg:  Guttenberg: In 10 years we will have caught up on the backlog of necessary reforms. The army will be smaller and trained for the challenges of asymmetrical threats.

Kyrgyzstan: A Test for Mutual Security

By James F. Collins and Matthew Rojansky, the New York Times

From James F. Collins and Matthew Rojansky, the New York Times:  The crisis in Kyrgyzstan presents an opportunity for three multilateral groups working in the area — NATO, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (C.S.T.O., an alliance of seven former Soviet states currently chaired by Armenia), and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (O.S.C.E.) […]

US Marines storm Estonian beachhead in exercise

By AP

From AP:  United States Marines are conducting their first amphibious landing exercise in a territory that was once part of the Soviet Union. In Tuesday’s joint military exercise some 130 combat-ready marines, along with Estonian troops, disembarked from the transport vessel USS Gunston Hall to occupy a beach near the town of Loksa on Estonia’s […]

Obama tells Cameron BP criticism is not anti-British

By Deutsche Welle

From Deutsche Welle:  US President Barack Obama assured British Prime Minister David Cameron in a telephone conversation on Saturday that his criticism of BP’s handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not about national identity. US President Barack Obama told British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday that his frustration over […]

Polish PM says to press allies to end Afghan mission

By Reuters

Russia sends in troops as slaughter leaves Kyrgyzstan on the brink of collapse

By Tony Halpin, the Times (London)

Kyrgyzstan Requested U.S. Military Aid and Rubber Bullets but was Turned Down

By Steve LeVine, Foreign Policy

From Steve LeVine, Foreign Policy:  Before Kyrgyzstan turned to Russia, it informally asked Washington for military assistance including a supply of rubber bullets to quell ethnic bloodletting in the south of the country, but was turned down, I am told by people privy to the situation.

Polish General Appointed Top NATO Post

By Polskie Radio

From Polskie Radio: Lt General Mieczyslaw Bieniek is to be deputy commander at NATO headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, US – the highest position a Pole has attained within the Atlantic alliance. Defence Minister Bogdan Klich, refused to confirm the position simply however, saying a decision will be made "soon." The PAP news agency reports that initially, Gen. […]

A Casualty of Reset Relations

By Owen Matthews, Newsweek

Kyrgyzstan Asks Russia to Help Quell Ethnic Riots

By Philip P. Pan, the Washington Post