Category Archives: NATO

The European Union is to create a special military command center for operating foreign missions, the German defense minister announced amid criticism from some bloc members that the initiative is financially unreasonable and merely copies NATO's steps.

EU foreign ministers founded, or put in motion, today a European command center for foreign missions, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, according to AP.

Membership in the program is not obligatory, von der Leyen stressed, adding that EU members not wishing to take part could act as observers.

Read more

For those who are not members of the European Union, like for example Norway or the British, there will be the possibility to join in selectively with certain projects or missions, she said.

The Norwegians have great interest in this, the British have great interest in this, the German minister noted.

Meanwhile, Britain has long criticized the blocs aspirations to launch its own army, saying the EU should not waste money on creating structures that match those set up by NATO. British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, who was also present at the meeting, called on other EU ministers to cooperate more closely with NATO to avoid unnecessary duplication and structures.

Nevertheless, von der Leyen called the move a very important step that was long overdue.

We took a very important step toward a European security and defense union, because we have become very concrete, she said.

Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign affairs chief, shared her opinion, saying that the command center will provide a more efficient approach to the existing military training missions we have.

Reports on the EU establishing a so-called Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) center aimed at stepping up security and defense cooperation among the bloc's military missions first appeared in media outlets on Friday, March 3.

Read more

The MPCC is expected to manage the blocs non-executive military missions, including the three missions currently in progress in Mali, Somalia, and the Central African Republic.

The idea of tightening cooperation among EU states on defense matters had long been off the table inside the bloc. However, the topic has again emerged on the agenda after Crimea joined Russia following a referendum in 2014. The EU described it as an annexation while the growing threat from Islamic militants also created additional pressure.

Britain opposed the idea for years, although after the UK voted to leave the EU in June last year, Germany and France, joined by Spain, were quick to try to revive the plan.

In November, von der Leyen urged the EU to modernize its military defense and security to match NATO, which has been beefing up its security forces most of them located along Russias borders.

We have seen an enormous modernization drive by NATO over the past three years because of the Kremlins behavior," von der Leyen said at a press conference, Reuters reported.

That was correct and important, but I believe that we must invest at the least same energy into a modernization of the European security and defense union, she said.

In June, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia will have to adequately respond to NATOs military activities along its borders.

Read more:
EU ministers agree to create joint military command center in NATO footsteps - RT

LONDON -- NATO has been urged to rethink its maritime strategy to address the re-emerging contest with Russia for supremacy in the North Atlantic, a paper by one of Europes top military think tanks says. If NATO does not have effective control of the North Atlantic, or at least the ability to deny Russia naval access to this maritime domain, Russia could block or disrupt U.S. reinforcement to Europe," the Royal United Services Institute said in the paper to be published in London on Monday. Titled, "NATO and the North Atlantic: Revitalising Collective Defence," the paper draws on views from leading experts, including Adm. James Stavridis, the Supreme Allied Commander between 2009 and 2013. Until now most of NATOs strategic response to Moscows aggression has been in the air and land sectors, but now senior ex-military officers writing in the survey are saying the alliance has to respond on the maritime front as well.

NATO must put the North Atlantic Ocean back on its agenda," retiredU.S.Gen. Philip M Breedlove, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe until last year, wrote in the survey's foreword.

Britain said mid-2016 it was buying nine of the jets and Norway later announced it too would become an operator of the aircraft with an order for five aircraft.

Read more:
Report flags NATO's naval shortfalls vis-a-vis Russia - Defense News - DefenseNews.com

Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News

Aircraft based in San Antonio take part in major NATO operation along Russian border

RIGA, Lativa The 22 soldiers in a chilly, darkened seating area toward the rear of the C-5M Super Galaxy bounced and jerked as its rear wheels hit a rain-slicked runway in this small Baltic country bordering Russia.

Air Force Reserve Capt. Mike Raggio of San Antonio adjusted the rudder to align the 28-wheel landing gear with the center line. Thrust reversers slowed the aircraft to an approach speed, then it rolled to a stop and the soldiers began unloading three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

RELATED:The U.S. is putting tanks and troops right in Russia's backyard

The arrival here of the 10th Mountain Division's 2-10 Assault Helicopter Battalion last week was mostly unnoticed in the United States. But it was a major event in Latvia , a member of NATO and a former Soviet republic whose Russian border neighborhood has grown increasingly tense in recent years.

The battalion, ferried from Fort Drum, New York by the giant transport planes based at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, is part of a brigade that has sent 2,200 soldiers to Latvia, Germany and Romania for a nine-month training tour.

That deployment is part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a multinational mission whose American footprint throughout Europe is 5,800 soldiers so far, including a 400-strong 1st Armored Division aviation regiment from Fort Bliss.

Added to the 70,000 U.S. troops permanently assigned to Europe, Atlantic Resolve is NATO's biggest military buildup along Russia's borders since the Cold War, military observers say.

Its a message to Moscow in the wake of a resurgent Russias annexation of the Crimea in 2014, combat clashes within Ukraine and support for other pro-Russian separatists in nations once part of the Soviet Union.

RELATED:Trump wary of Russian deal; new advisers urge tougher stand

Estonia, a neighbor of Latvia, accused Russians of kidnapping a senior security official in 2014; Russia said it detained him on the Russian side of the border. Russian President Vladimir Putin has positioned nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad, a piece of Russia that borders Poland and Lithuania, and has sent warships armed with cruise missiles to the Baltic Sea. And Russian warplanes have buzzed NATO aircraft this year.

So the arriving Super Galaxies and the Blackhawks they unloaded were a welcome sight to Latvians unnerved by President Trump's criticism of NATO, particularly its member nations that aren't paying their share to support the alliance. In a pre-inauguration interview with the Times of London and Bild, a German newspaper, Trump stunned some observers by saying NATO was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago.

Trump also hinted during last years campaign that he might not honor the alliances Article V, which treats an attack on one member nation as an attack on all. But Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary James Mattis, at a recent conference in Europe, tried to reassure NATO of Americas commitment while making it clear its nations had to meet their financial obligations.

Soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division wouldnt address Trumps comments but said their deployment should be a clear signal to Russia and its worried neighbors.

Messaging is very important. And that's our goal, to reassure in the Baltic region our NATO and our partner forces and allies of the commitment, said Capt. Lewis Hudson, 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland, a pilot and commander of an assault helicopter company now based in Latvia.

Weve thought about the message, added the battalions commander, Lt. Col. Joshua Ruisanchez, 40, of Ro Piedras, Puerto Rico. And its simple: Its truly our commitment and resolve to the NATO countries.

Part of the reassurance, he said, comes from the size and power of the training force, by sending an entire combat aviation brigade over to Eastern Europe to demonstrate what NATO commanders call interoperability among member nations armed forces.

You've got the British, the French, the Germans, the Canadians, so we'll be operating with them, with much of the 10th Mountain brigade, joined by the Fort Bliss contingent,based in Germany and working with the partner nations, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Hungary and Poland, Ruisanchez said. We'll be a task force the moment we hit ground.

As his soldiers waited in an adjacent room at Fort Drum to board their Riga-bound flights, Hudson spoke of them as helicopter air assault professionals.

We want to be able to help (the Latvians) be able to work alongside us to the same level of proficiency that our forces are, he said.

Its a relationship and a message that doesnt ring hollow when you show up and you're a capable force and then train them to become their own capable forces, said Sgt. Maj. Ronnie Littler, 42, of Tucson, Arizona.

Different kind of mission

Something else was being demonstrated speed of assembly, a byword of the integration of Army and Air Force operations, exemplified by the battalions airlift, Hudson said.

That's what the Air Force really provides, for the Army to be able to go into (Europe) expeditiously, Hudson said. In less than eight hours we can go from the East Coast to anywhere in Europe and start setting up our forces to support any NATO country that needs the support and reassurance, and to help deter any aggression, regardless of where it comes from.

The battalions 1,800 troops were moved to Riga in a combination of military and civilian contract aircraft. The Lackland-based transports moved the heavy stuff three Blackhawks per C-5 flight.

The missions high geopolitical profile is unusual for the Air Force Reserve's 433rd Airlift Wing, which spans the globe in any given month without fanfare, supplying the military from South Korea to Afghanistan.

Raggio, 30, became a command pilot at the unusually young age of 26. Starting Tuesday, his C-5 twice flew the 8.5 hours from Fort Drum to Riga weighing 720,000 pounds at each takeoff and was to stop at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on the way home.

By the time theyre done, the planes 14 crew members will have crossed the Atlantic four times and burned 120,000 gallons of jet fuel over 20,080 miles.

The fuel economy? Six gallons per mile.

Nothing ever goes quite as planned for the Alamo Wing, a unit with a long history of flying the C-5, whose cargo bay is longer than the Wright Brothers first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Super Galaxy can be as temperamental as it is big.

Given the potential for mechanical issues and revised orders, airmen tell their families never to count on them returning on time. The make frequent grocery runs while en route to buy more food than theyll likely need. And they have rituals and superstitions.

Master Sgt. Eric Mungia, 33, stops at the Little Taco Factory in Kirby before a mission and always orders huevos rancheros, a side of bacon and black coffee.

And the crew wont jinx things by putting on flight suits at the hotel until the alert order has been given to head to the air base unless were in Hawaii and I want to stay longer, said Master Sgt. Will Jalomo, 45, of Lytle, the primary C-5 loadmaster on this trip.

This time the five pilots, five loadmasters, two engineers and two flying crew chiefs fell behind schedule on the first day, thanks to a faulty electrical circuit and the idiosyncrasies of international air travel a 15-minute diplomatic clearance window over southern Norway.

One of the three Black Hawks brought to the plane wasnt on Mungias original plan. As loadmaster, he had to determine its weight and compute its center of gravity, as he does for each item. It ensures a safe flight and saves fuel.

A mistake can be disastrous. A 2013 crash of a Boeing 747-400 cargo aircraft carrying a load of improperly secured Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles killed all seven crew members at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

They blamed it on a load shift, said Maj. Jeremy Hooper, a veteran pilot with the wing who began flying in the ninth grade and took the next load of MRAPs out of Bagram following the incident. After seeing that, I wanted to hold Loadmaster Appreciation Week because if they dont do their job correctly, were all dead.

C-5 history in San Antonio

Motorists on Texas 151 or fans at a San Antonio Missions home game who see a lumbering C-5 taking off or landing at Lackland might know its one of eight M model planes assigned to the 433rd. More powerful and fuel efficient versions of the old C-5A, they arrived last June.

The wing came to the now-closed Brooks AFB in 1955, moved to Kelly AFB five years later and became part of Lackland after Kellys closure.

A lot of people in San Antonio think we do touch-and-goes, and nothing else, said one loadmaster, Tech. Sgt. Bryan Stone, referring to takeoff and landing runs done by the wings 733rd Training Squadron. Stone, 34, is a firefighter and paramedic in civilian life.

The 356th Airlift Squadron logged 220 sorties last year, while the 68th Airlift Squadron flew nearly twice as many, flying anywhere American troops may be posted.

Hooper, 37, flies Boeing 767 jets for Delta Air Lines and has 5,500 hours in civilian and military aircraft. He can tell you how long the C-5 has been flying in San Antonio because his dad, then-Maj. Victor Hooper, flew one of the first A models into Kelly in 1984.

Raggio, a Dallas native who flew in Afghanistan and Iraq, now flies for American Airlines in civilian life, manages every facet of the C-5 mission, from mapping out each legs flight plan and fuel requirements to contingency planning and caring for the crew.

Mungia takes pride in helping carry out national policy, and not just here in Latvia. He is due to fly to Kuwait later in the month, and after that to Afghanistan.

We have some pilots and some loadmasters who say, I remember when I used to fly with your dad, and now some fly with their own kids, who are loadmasters, engineers or pilots, Mungia said. So its a family affair.

sigc@express-news.net

Follow this link:
Aircraft based in San Antonio take part in major NATO operation along Russian border - mySanAntonio.com

Ubers Greyball ; A Tax on Robots? ... and more Picks In the News: In one of his first acts as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt withdrew a requirement for the oil and gas industry to report about methane emitted during operations. About this photo. Flaring from start-up operations on the deepwater Atlantis oil and gas platform.Photo credit: USGS

PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.

Former FBI agent, and private investigator Robert A. Levinson went missing on March 7, 2007 while on a rogue CIA recruiting mission on an Iranian island. Many believe his disappearance was related to the defection of a top Iranian spy, who, months earlier, possibly leaked secrets to the West about Irans nuclear program.

Under Bush and Cheney, media institutions cheered us into Iraq. Under Obama, they ignored drone warfare and Middle East conflict. What will happen under Trump?

Uber has a contentious reputation throughout the world, even being banned in some places. Its greyball tool has been able to subvert authorities in areas of the world that do not welcome Ubers service.

A comprehensive rundown on the ever expanding Russia-gate scandal.

Economist Yanis Varoufakis discusses the good and bad of Bill Gatess ideas on a robot tax and universal basic income.

Trump, and Obama before him, has urged NATO allies to increase their military spending to 2% of GDP. Some NATO allies, like France and Germany, are increasingly seeing this as a chance to develop their own alternative military forces. Especially after the Euro-skeptic UK left the EU.

We are 100% reader funded. Your tax-deductible contribution enables our next investigation. Make an impact now.

Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary.

The Conscience of the Media Is Impressed by WhoWhatWhy. Find Out Why Here:

CJR isn't alone. Every day more discover our unprecedented, relevant form of deep inquiry.

Let's keep the momentum going. Act now to increase our public-powered impact!

First Name:

Last Name:

Email address:

City

State

Country United States Afghanistan land Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Runion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Barthlemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Weekly WhoWhatWhy WhoWhatWhy Now

Ubers Greyball ; A Tax on Robots? and more Picks for 3/6.

Four Hidden Bits of Trumps Immigration Policy ; Fears of a Pension Tsunami and more Picks 3/3.

New Use for Police Body Camera ; The Billionaires Behind Trump and more Picks for 3/2.

Yemen Gets Worse ; Jack Abramoff Returns and more Picks for 3/1.

Germany: No Debt Relief for Greece ; CEO Predicts More Media Consolidation Under Trump and more Picks for 2/28.

Read the rest here:
EU's Alternative to NATO - WhoWhatWhy / RealNewsProject (blog)

Ex-NATO commander says Russia, China will surpass U.S. military

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sunday, March 5, 2017, 11:42 AM

A prominent retired general said Sunday that the U.S. military was in decline and indicated that not even President Trump's proposed $54 billion increase in defense spending was likely to prevent it from soon being surpassed by those of Russia and China.

Former NATO Commander Gen. Wesley Clark, a Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, told John Catsimatidis on the "Cats Roundtable" radio program on AM 970 in New York that, "if you look at what's happened over 25 years, the United States has mostly put its military modernization on warm idle."

"We've looked at what we need. But we have not bought the stuff that is cutting-edge We are spending our money on ordinance, on bombers, on missiles that are blowing holes in the ground and sometimes hitting terrorists," he said. "But Russia, they have produced a new generation of armored forces."

Clark said the Russian military has tanks "we'd like to have in 2030."

James Clapper shuts down Trumps claim that Obama ordered wiretap

"We are that far behindThat's worrisome," he said, adding that the U.S. is also "behind on the nuclear side."

U.S. air, satellite and drone systems are "all vulnerable to electro-magnetic pulse and electromagnetic warfare disruption."

"We build very sophisticated systems, but they have very obvious vulnerabilities," he said.

Last month, news emerged that Trump's proposed budget would make deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and a host of other federal agencies while boosting military spending by $54 billion

Trump's understanding of national security probes is troubling

But not even that would suffice, Clark contended.

"Unfortunately, the new $54 billion (that would be) going into the Defense budget doesn't really deliver sufficient funds to meet the need," he said. "We need more money than that on a sustained basis."

View post:
Former NATO commander says US military will likely be surpassed by Russia and China - New York Daily News

Donald Trumps rhetoric on NATO during Tuesday nights congressional address seemed to offer something new to the public one of only a few parts of the speech that did. His words on the military alliance sounded a bit more optimistic than usual, but it turns out that Trumps good cheer about NATO mainly served to make a self-congratulatory claim of leadership that isnt true.

We strongly support NATO, an alliance forged through the bonds of two world wars and the Cold War and defeated communism, he said to hearty applause from Congress.

As he has many times in the past, he called for NATO member countries to fulfill their financial obligations to the post-World War II military alliance. But this time, he was feeling better about that prospect. Why? According to him, his tough talk on NATO members pulling their weight had already begun to inspire them to clean up their acts and start contributing more to their defense budgets just 40 days into his presidency.

Now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that, he said. "In fact, I can tell you, the money is pouring in."

"Very nice," he added.

The only problem is, NATO members decisions to start increasing their defense spending began before Trump entered office.

As CNN reports, NATO members that were failing to live up to their agreement to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense made a commitment to do so back in 2014. And they began to take steps toward that commitment (which only five of 28 members currently fulfill). In 2015, the alliances overall defense spending rose for the first time in 20 years. In 2016, 22 of 28 NATO members saw an increase in their defense budgets, CNN notes.

In other words, NATO members had already begun to pick up their defense spending under then-President Barack Obama, who had himself persistently called for NATO members to meet their required contributions. Theres no evidence at the moment that Trump has done anything to accelerate that dynamic. In fact, the foreign minister of Germany the richest country in Europe cast doubt on the reality of a 2 percent target on Wednesday, and described it as more of a goal than a binding obligation.

Its not the first time Trumps tried claiming undeserved credit for improving NATO. Last year, during the campaign, he argued that his criticism of NATO as ill-suited to combat terrorism caused the organization to ramp up counter-terrorism efforts. That was also untrue.

The presidents slightly more sanguine rhetoric on NATO Tuesday might be an attempt to move past his administrations threatening and inconsistent positioning on the issue.

By claiming that NATO is getting back into shape, Trump could be trying to create a basis to pivot from being coercive on NATO funding to being a bit more traditionally whiny about it, as previous administrations have been. And along the way, he gets to claim credit for achieving something he had no role in.

Then again, its important to not read too much into any remark Trump makes. One of his few consistent traits is that he is utterly inconsistent, and his administrations attitude toward NATO fits that pattern perfectly. Well have to take his position on this issue just as the USs allies in Europe do: day by day.

Here is the original post:
Don't be fooled by Trump's claim about whipping NATO into shape - Vox

PODGORICA, Montenegro Pro-Russian opposition leaders in Montenegro have asked the White House chief strategist to help block the Balkan countrys NATO bid, saying the Obama administration has presented false facts about its readiness to join the Western military alliance.

Two opposition officials, Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic, wrote in a letter to Steve Bannon, a senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, that the U.S. Senate should vote against the accession. The vote has been stalled because of objections by two senators.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter on Friday.

So far, 25 of 28 NATO members have approved Montenegros membership bid, but the U.S. endorsement is considered crucial.

Trumps stand on NATO, which he once described as an obsolete organization, and his positive remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin have caused worries in Montenegro that the small country could be left without U.S. support amid the Kremlins expanding influence in the Balkan region.

The Montenegrin opposition has boycotted parliament since the October election, when the countrys pro-Western government accused it of attempting a pro-Russian coup that allegedly included plans to take over power and kill the then-prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, because of his NATO bid.

The letter, written on behalf of a coalition of opposition parties called the Democratic Front, warned that the security situation in Montenegro is very complex and that the matter of relations to NATO demands exceptional caution. It added that Bannon should gain a clear picture of the situation before the final approval.

Mandic and Knezevic alleged that the U.S. has been presented with false facts and superficial information about Montenegro by the Obama administration.

They said Montenegro has been deeply split between those who seek NATO membership and those who reject it.

Montenegrin society does not have a unique attitude regarding the admission to NATO as falsely alleged by the former administration in Washington, the letter stated. In reality, Montenegro does not meet the criteria for admission to the Euro-Atlantic alliance because it cannot ensure its own internal stability and democratic system.

Russia has strongly opposed NATO expansion in Europe, especially if it brings countries like Montenegro that were considered close allies of Moscow into the military alliance.

Read more from the original source:
Delay in Montenegro's NATO bid urged - The Durango Herald

On February 1719, NATO leaders gathered at the annual Munich Security Conference to reassert their commitments to mutual defense. For the Europeans, the conference provided the first up-close glimpse at the defense policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, who had previously dismissed NATO as obsolete and had expressed doubt that the future of the EU matters much for the United States. The conference also came shortly after U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis told European leaders that Americans cannot care more for your childrens security than you do.

Despite a tense atmosphere, both the Americans and the Europeans were on their best behavior in Munich: both U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed their continued commitment to the alliance. Yet the truth is that, renewal of vows notwithstanding, transatlantic relations are facing their greatest challenge in decades, with a resurgent Russia in the east, a European Union undergoing its biggest domestic crisis in decades, and a U.S. administration that is evidently impatient with its allies free-riding.

NATO needs reform. Washingtons recipe for what needs to be done, however, which largely consists of getting the Europeans to adhere to rigid defense spending targets, is similar to the obsessions of old Soviet economic plannersconcerned with inputs rather than outputs. As a result, the Trump administrations focus on burden-sharing obscures how NATO might really be made more effective, while inhibiting the development of a healthier U.S.-European defense relationship.

NOT SO FAST

The United States has long attempted toshame Europe into spending more on defense. In 2011, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that NATO faced a dismal future of collective military irrelevance unless its European members increased their financial contributions. The Trump administrations complaints are thus largely accuratethe Europeans can and must do more to support the transatlantic alliance. In 2014, for instance, NATO member states pledged to increase their defense spending to two percent of GDP by 2024, but

See original here:
The Real Problems With NATO - Foreign Affairs (subscription)

NATO's top leadership and member states' officials have been invited to the Moscow Security Conference, Russias Defense Ministry has said, reaffirming its persistent pursuit of open dialogue amid the alliances firm rejection of military cooperation.

Despite suspended cooperation in the military sphere, invitations to the forum have been sent to all member countries of the North Atlantic alliance and the European Union, as well as to the NATO leadership, Aleksandr Fomin, Deputy Defense Minister, said during a briefing in Moscow on Friday.

Read more

Russias Defense Ministry has been staging the Moscow Conference on International Security annually since 2011. The open forum offers a unique opportunity for international defense officials and organizations, as well as non-governmental experts and journalists to address key security issues.

As in the previous years, were ready to provide a tribune for our partners for the free expression of views and an exchange of opinions on various aspects of global and regional security in the presence of more than 200 Russian and foreign journalists, Fomin is cited as saying by TASS.

If someone holds a different point of view, let him outline it and well take it into account in our further work. In a word, we count on open and interested discussions, he added.

READ MORE: From predictable position of force? NATOs chief tells Russias FM theres room for dialogue

This years conference is scheduled to take place on April 26-27, with Russias Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Security Council secretary Nikolay Patrushev and Chief of Russias General Staff Valery Gerasimov expected to address the forum.

Read more

One of the main goals of the upcoming event, according to Fomin, is to try and unite the efforts of the defense ministries in the search for more effective measures to counter common challenges and threats.

Apart from NATO and the EU representatives, defense ministers and military delegations from 84 countries have been invited, as well as the heads of nine international organizations and over 130 foreign security experts, Fomin announced.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Arab League have already confirmed their participation for the Moscow meeting.

NATO opted to put cooperation with Russia on hold in 2014 following a coup in Kiev that triggered an armed backlash in the east of Ukraine and a referendum in Crimea to join Russia. The military alliance accuses Russia of direct involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, while Moscow denies this perceived aggression.

Read more

After almost three years of no practical cooperation, NATO Military Committee General Petr Pavel held a phone conversation with Chief of Russias General Staff, Valery Gerasimov. During the call, Gerasimov reiterated Russias concerns over NATO's significantly increased military activity near Russian borders. The sides also discussed the prospects of restoring military communications between Russia and the bloc as well as devising mutual steps to decrease tensions in Europe.

Earlier this week, General Sir Gordon Kenneth Messenger, UKs Vice Chief of the Defence Staff discussed NATO-Russian relations with General Alexander Zhuravlev, deputy chief of Russia's General Staff.

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that NATOs newly-declared official mission to deter Russia and constant attempts to drag Moscow into a confrontation contributes to global security degradation. NATO continues to insist that there is room for dialogue and for engagement with Russia even if practical cooperation is suspended, while Moscow believes that idle talks with the military alliance make little sense without joint work in the defense sphere.

Here is the original post:
Russia invites NATO leadership for 'open discussion' at Moscow Security Conference - RT

Activists of the opposition political forces and public organizations from Montenegro initiated a rally from Podgorica to Brussels. According to the organizer of the action, the head of the movement Hopeless Resistance Marco Milachich, the activists are to declare in front of the international community about the necessity of a referendum on the countrys accession to NATO.

The event Referendum caravan which was launched on February 20 will end on March 3. After Belgrade the activists still have to overcome the way to the capital of Belgium through the city of Banja Luka, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Vienna, Prague and Berlin.

One of the stop on the way to Brussels was the city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Banja Luka is the capital of one of the two national entities within the country called the Republic of Srpska (RS). The Montenegrin opposition expected to get considerable support from the Serbian population, negatively related to the prospect of accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to NATO.

According to the official position of Sarajevo, the most important issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina external policy is to create conditions for the early entry into NATO and the EU. This policy of Euro-Atlantic integration is welcomed in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 50-70 percent of the people support countrys membership in NATO. In the Srpska Republic, the vast majority of the population does not support the idea of accession.

The protests against the country accession to NATO have been held in Banja Luka before. Residents of city often gather on the main square, to remind of the bloody NATO military actions in Yugoslavia in 1999.

According to the leader of public patriotic organization of the Republic of Srpska Our Serbia Mladjan Djordjevic, the West is actively working to maintain artificial separatist movements inside the RC. Moreover, the West is providing active support for Sarajevo, to deprive Banja Luka sovereignty and the right to resist the policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina to join NATO. At the same time, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina actually lives on external funds. The corruption reaches colossal scales, and the authorities have become puppets of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, despite the political pressure from the West and the official Sarajevo, the Srpska Republic, headed by its national leader Milorad Dodik, continues to protect its sovereignty and legitimacy. They actively supported the rally on February 24 in Banja Luka.

Read this article:
Bosnia- Herzegovina Referendum Caravan against NATO and Euro-Atlantic Integration - Center for Research on Globalization