Western Europe

NATO Secretary General attends Special Forces joint exercise in Denmark

By NATO

Italy says US, UK forces free ship from pirates

By Alessandra Rizzo, the AP

From Alessandra Rizzo, the AP:  U.S. and British forces freed an Italian cargo ship on Tuesday that was attacked by pirates off Somalia and arrested the assailants, officials said.

British opposition demands answers from defence chief

By Adrian Croft,  Reuters

From Adrian Croft,  Reuters:  Britain’s opposition demanded a fuller explanation from Defence Secretary Liam Fox on Monday over his contacts with a close friend in the defence business that could cost him his job.

Why the future of air power belongs to unmanned systems

By the Economist

From the Economist:  American officers, with their passion for acronyms, prefer not to call the machine that killed al-Awlaki a drone. They have a point. In nature, drone bees are poor, useless things that produce no honey and have no sting.

Three reasons why NATO defense cooperation will not succeed at the Chicago Summit

By James Blitz, the Financial Times

From James Blitz, the Financial Times:  Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato’s secretary-general, wants to tackle waning defence capability head on. In a speech last week he set out a programme for what he calls “Smart Defence”.

Le Monde Editor: “The longstanding terms of the old military relationship within the West between America and Europe have ended”

By the European Institute

From the European Institute:  So what does Libya show about Western military cooperation in trying to control future conflicts even against minor rogue states?  It shows that NATO without the U.S. cannot handle an expeditionary war even on the scale of Libya

NATO Secretary General opposes defense HQ for the EU

By Steven Erlanger and Stephen Castle, the New York Times

From Steven Erlanger and Stephen Castle, the New York Times:  [NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh] Rasmussen criticized a proposal from the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain to set up a defense-planning headquarters for the European Union based in Brussels.