Category: Blogs

Global Challenges Absent from New Strategic Concept

By Rob de Wijk

NATO’s new Strategic Concept seeks to explain how the Alliance will address 21st century security challenges including energy security, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to rogue actors, terrorism, and cyber security. But the document should also have taken into account the dramatic new security challenges that will change the world and will impact the […]

NATO Summit Reality Check: Brilliant Policy vs. Real World Resistance

By Kurt Volker

The recently concluded NATO summit did all the right things: outline an ambitious role for NATO in a complex world; renew and recalibrate NATO’s role in Afghanistan; relaunch the NATO-Russia Council; and even move the ball forward on missile defense. This will now be followed by negotiations on implementation documents. To someone who has worked […]

Ukraine to cut Armed Forces by 20%

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  The Ukrainian armed forces will be cut by some 40,000 employees, including high-ranking officials, in the next five years in order to reduce military expenditure, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hryhoriy Pedchenko said on Thursday.

President of Armenia Boycotted NATO Summit

By Aris Ghazinyan, ArmeniaNow

From Aris Ghazinyan, ArmeniaNow:  President Serzh Sargsyan did not take part in the two-day NATO summit held in Lisbon on November 19-20.

NATO members sign aviation security agreement with Finland

By Allied Command Operations

From Allied Command Operations:  [A]fter three years of negotiations, Finland and three Baltic nations have agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, establishing an Air Situation Data Exchange.

NATO Summit in Lisbon Helps Obama

By Jackie Calmes and Peter Baker, the New York Times

Children safer in Afghan cities than NYC: NATO envoy

By Jonathon Burch, Reuters

From Jonathon Burch, Reuters:  Children are probably safer growing up in Afghanistan’s major cities, including the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, than in London, New York, or Glasgow, NATO’s top civilian envoy to Afghanistan has said.

Taliban vows to force NATO out before 2014 pullout

By Patrick Quinnby, the AP

From Patrick Quinnby, the AP:  The Taliban on Sunday vowed to force the U.S.-led coalition to abandon Afghanistan before a 2014 date set by the alliance for handing over security responsibility to its allied Afghan forces. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in message e-mailed to the media that NATO will be unable to establish a […]

The Czech Republic: What NATO means for us

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