United States and Canada

Barack Obama Overruled “No-Spying” Pact with France

By the Telegraph

From the Telegraph:  [Former U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis] Blair proposed an unprecedented written pledge even more binding than the post-war "gentlemen’s agreement" between the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as trusted partners who do not spy on each other.

US Patriot Missiles Arrive in Poland

By the AP

From the AP: Dozens of American soldiers and a battery of Patriot missiles have arrived in Poland, where they will spend the next two years teaching the Polish military to operate the advanced guided missile system at a base just a few miles from the Russian border.

Fayyad Associates: Palestinians Agree To NATO Presence In State

By MEMRI

From MEMRI: Despite PLO negotiations chief Saeb Ereqat’s denial (see PLO Negotiator: We Didn’t Agree To NATO Presence In Palestinian State) the Saudi daily Al-Madina cited sources close to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as saying that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had informed the U.S. that he agreed to such a NATO presence […]

Obama: “The Burdens of this Century Cannot Fall on American Shoulders Alone.”

By the AP

From the AP: President Barack Obama on Saturday told graduating cadets eventually headed for war that their country needs allies standing with the U.S. in Afghanistan at a time when some nations are questioning their commitment to that fight and the costs of war. … "The burdens of this century cannot fall on American shoulders […]

British Troops in Afghanistan to Get U.S. Commander

By Reuters

From Reuters:  Almost all British troops fighting in Afghanistan will answer directly to a U.S. commander as part of a restructuring of the NATO-led mission, NATO and the British army said on Friday. Helmand province, where military operations to oust Taliban militants have long been under British control, will fall under the command of U.S. […]

Turkey’s Zero-Problems Foreign Policy

By Ahmet Davutoğlu, Foreign Policy

From Ahmet Davutoğlu, Foreign Policy:  During the Cold War, Turkey was a "wing country" under NATO’s strategic framework, resting on the geographic perimeter of the Western alliance. NATO’s strategic concept, however, has evolved in the post-Cold War era — and so has Turkey’s calculation of its strategic environment. Turkey’s presence in Afghanistan is a clear […]

NATO Agrees to Split of Regional Command South, Afghanistan

By NATO

From NATO: On 21 May 2010, the North Atlantic Council, in consultation with non-NATO ISAF Troop Contributing Nations, gave final authorisation for the reorganisation of ISAF’s Regional Command South and the establishment of an additional Regional Command South-West – RC(SW) – in Afghanistan.

U.S. Abandoning Russia’s Neighbors

By David J. Kramer, the Washington Post

From David J. Kramer, the Washington Post: Some 14 months ago on this page, I warned against a "grand bargain" between the United States and Russia as part of the Obama administration’s reset efforts with Moscow. One concern then was that the administration would pursue a "Russia first" policy at the expense of Russia’s neighbors.

In First Move, Cameron Cultivates UK Role in Europe’s “Triangle of Power”

By the New York Times

14 US Troops Receive Medals for Rescuing German Soldiers

By the AP

From the AP:  Fourteen U.S. service members have received Germany’s Gold Cross Medal for their bravery in extracting wounded German soldiers from a firefight in northeast Afghanistan – the first time the award has been given to troops from another nation.