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NATOSource

Sep 9, 2009

NATOSource: NATO Troops Rescue NYT Reporter

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: Stephen Farrell, a New York Times reporter held captive by militants in northern Afghanistan, was freed in a military commando raid early Wednesday, but his Afghan interpreter, a British commando and an Afghan woman were killed in the raid. Gunmen seized Mr. Farrell and his interpreter, Sultan Munadi, on Saturday […]

United Kingdom United States and Canada

NATOSource

Sep 8, 2009

Spiegel Reports Obama Plans Surge in Afghanistan After German Elections

By Spiegel

From Spiegel: The Obama administration seems determined to expand the military effort and then to make an assessment as to whether or not progress can be made that way. NATO was informed by diplomatic sources that the United States wants to move a combat force of about 45,000 men from Iraq to Afghanistan — in […]

United States and Canada

NATOSource

Sep 8, 2009

Merkel Hits Back at NATO Criticism of Air Strike

By Spiegel

From Spiegel: German Chancellor Angela Merkel hit back on Tuesday at NATO allies that have criticized the air strike Germany ordered on two hijacked fuel tankers in Afghanistan last Friday, saying Germany would not tolerate accusations before a full investigation had been conducted. In a speech to parliament, Merkel pledged an extensive probe and said […]

NATOSource

Sep 8, 2009

German general takes over NATO’s Kosovo force

By AP

From AP: Germany’s Lt. Gen. Markus Bentler says keeping a safe and secure environment “will be a huge challenge … with fewer forces.” Bentler took over command on Monday of some 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers from Italian Lt. Gen. Emilio Gay. Bentler is NATO’s 14th commander of the force known as KFOR. The alliance has said […]

NATOSource

Sep 7, 2009

Merkel, Brown call for Afghan conference this year

By Reuters

From Reuters: Germany and Britain called on Sunday for a U.N. conference on Afghanistan this year to set new targets for transferring security responsibilities to the Afghan authorities as a prelude to reducing NATO troop levels. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Gordon Brown told a news conference in Berlin they were launching the initiative […]

United Kingdom United States and Canada

NATOSource

Sep 7, 2009

NATO Exercise ”ZHETYSU 2009”

By NATO

  From NATO: The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan will conduct the disaster response field exercise “ZHETYSU 2009” from 5 to 10 September 2009 in the city of Kapchagay in the Almaty province of Kazakhstan. All together, approximately 1000 participants, including more than 500 from Kazakhstan, […]

NATOSource

Sep 7, 2009

“Allies Can’t Conceal Schadenfreude” at Botched Air Strike

By Spiegel

From Spiegel: The air strike the German army ordered on two hijacked fuel tankers stuck in a river bed in the Kunduz region of northern Afghanistan in the early hours of last Friday appears to have claimed considerable civilian casualties and has led to criticism from Germany’s NATO allies in Afghanistan. It has also put […]

NATOSource

Sep 4, 2009

PM Gordon Brown speech on Afghanistan

By the Office of the Prime Minister (UK)

From the Office of the Prime Minister (UK): When the stability of this volatile region, spanning the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, has such a profound impact on the security of Britain and the rest of the international community we cannot just do nothing and leave the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan to struggle with these global problems […]

United Kingdom United States and Canada

NATOSource

Sep 4, 2009

Peace Won By The Strong

By Heritage

From Heritage: One of America’s greatest imports to Europe was their love of free trade, capitalism, liberty and democracy as the true safeguards against internal conflict. And with NATO’s security guarantee and tens of thousands of American troops on the European Continent, Western Europe was free to build its powerful economies and enjoy the fruits […]

European Union International Organizations

NATOSource

Sep 4, 2009

Nato’s mission impossible

By the Guardian

From the Guardian: The question of Nato’s role in Afghanistan is certain to loom large. Hinting at potentially cooling relations between Washington and the transatlantic military alliance, McChrystal’s predecessor was reportedly excused from his post due to a perceived over-deference to Nato, among other concerns. General David McKiernan had initially seemed like an ideal choice […]

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