Category: Blogs

NATO open to Ukrainian role in missile defense – Rasmussen

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Ukraine may also take part in NATO’s missile-defense program, as the invitation to join should not be limited to Russia, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Moscow on Wednesday. "I think this invitation should be open to our Euro-Atlantic partners, so it is also an invitation to Ukraine if Ukraine so […]

Entente Frugal: There Has to Be More to Defense Policy Than Saving Money

By Iain Martin, the Wall Street Journal

From Iain Martin, the Wall Street Journal:  [I]t is worth adding a note of caution amid all the cross-channel bonhomie. Almost everyone involved seems convinced they are getting something different out of these arrangements.

National intelligence director says budget will be moved from Pentagon control

By Ellen Nakashima, the Washington Post

From Ellen Nakashima, the Washington Post:  Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said Tuesday that he has won a "conceptual agreement" to remove the $53 billion national intelligence budget from Pentagon control and place it under his purview by 2013

Poland’s Afghan mission purely training in 2012

By the AP

From the AP:  Poland’s leaders say they want the country’s military mission in Afghanistan to become a pure training mission in 2012 and to end altogether in 2014 in line with NATO plans. President Bronislaw Komorowski and members of Prime Minister Donald Tusk‘s government met Wednesday to discuss the position Poland will take at a […]

The Czech and Slovak governments to send more troops to Afghanistan

By the AP

From the AP:  The Czech Parliament has approved a government plan to increase the number of Czech troops in Afghanistan during the next two years. The plan, approved by Parliament’s upper house last week, won the approval of the lower house in a 106-67 vote on Wednesday. It allows the deployment of up to 720 […]

Greece Suspends Outgoing Airmail After Wave of Bombs

By  Michael Slackman and Niki Kitsantonis, the New York Times

From Michael Slackman and Niki Kitsantonis, the New York Times:  A package bomb addressed to the German chancellor and shipped by air from Greece was found in her office’s mailroom on Tuesday

NATO Sees Threats, but Is Reluctant to Say Just Who the Enemy Might Be

By Steven Erlanger, the New York Times

From Steven Erlanger, the New York Times:  NATO’s secretary general expects two headlines out of this month’s annual summit meeting in Lisbon: an agreement to build an alliance-wide missile defense system, and NATO’s own “reset” with Russia

Letter bombs explode in embassies in Athens, Merkel and Sarkozy also targetted

By  Michael Slackman and Niki Kitsantonis, the New York Times

From Michael Slackman and Niki Kitsantonis, the New York Times:  A package containing explosives shipped by air from Greece was found in the mail room at the German chancellor’s office on Tuesday, just a few hours after letter bombs exploded at the Swiss and Russian embassies in Athens

Should NATO’s New Strategic Concept discuss the role of women?

By Katrin Bennhold, the New York Times

From Katrin Bennhold, the New York Times:  When NATO unveils its new doctrine later this month, it will include a revamped nuclear policy, a section on cyberwar and fresh thinking on how to engage Russia. But will it follow a little-noticed recommendation (from an expert group led by Madeleine Albright, a former U.S. secretary of […]

Key Elements of the New Anglo-French Security Treaty

By James Kirkup, the Telegraph