Category Archives: NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin has illegally seized Crimea, invaded Ukraine, and meddled in the US and French elections. Yet people in more than half a dozen NATO countries still trust him to do the right thing in international affairs more than they trust President Trump to, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Thats pretty wild.

NATO is a Cold Warera military alliance that was formed to protect Europe from the Soviet Union, and one of its key roles today is serving as a bulwark against Russian influence and expansionism. The US is the backbone of NATO in terms of military power and financing, and its essential to keeping Russian influence in Europe in check.

Yet majorities in seven NATO countries Greece, Germany, Turkey, Hungary, France, Italy, and Spain said they had more faith that Putin would do the right thing in global affairs than Trump, often by huge margins. The chart below shows the results from 36 of the countries included in the survey. All the countries listed above that black line about halfway down are the ones in which more people said they trust Putin than Trump:

But take a look at the three countries that are right under that black line: Australia, Canada, and the UK. Two of those (Canada and the UK) are NATO members, and Australia is one of Americas closest allies, having fought alongside the US in every major conflict since World War I. Yet those three countries only barely made it under that line: In Australia, confidence in Trump was just 2 points more than in Putin; it was only 3 points more in both Canada and the UK.

The prompt that pollsters posed to respondents is extremely broad do the right thing could be interpreted in a number of ways. On one hand, trust in a leader by that metric could signal approval of his worldview and his policies. In that case, it would seem Putin is generally more well-liked in these countries.

Alternatively, it could mean that someone believes the leader is judicious and not inclined to act rashly in his foreign policy. Through that lens, respondents could simply be saying they think Putin is a more prudent strategist than Trump, who is famously inexperienced and impulsive.

In all likelihood, the poll results suggest a blend of the two both unfavorable views of Trump and mistrust in his ability to navigate international affairs wisely. In either case, its an amazing finding, and yet another indicator of sharply declining trust in American leadership.

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One chart sums up how little faith American allies have in Trump - Vox

Dalai Lama Christopher Michel / Flickr

In a recent interview with Russian media in India, the Dalai Lama voiced a radical proposal to reduce tensions between NATO and Russia.

I have mentioned before an idea that may be an empty dream, but if NATO were to shift its headquarters to Moscow it might allay whatever misapprehensions Russians may feel, the Dalai Lama said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.

The Dalai Lamas comments come as NATO is bolstering deployments to the Baltic States and Poland ahead of Russian military exercises in Belarus in September.

Aware that his controversial suggestion might not be well received in Washington, the Dalai Lama said: I'm afraid now that after such a suggestion, I wont be allowed to go to America!

The Buddhist spiritual leader is a contentious figure in Russia. He last visited in 2004, and authorities in Moscow have repeatedly denied him permission to return ever since. China has publicly thanked the Kremlin on each occasion it bars the Dalai Lama.

In an outspoken interview in 2014, the Dalai Lama criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for being self-centered. "His attitude is: I, I, I. This is the root of the problem, he told a German newspaper.

This time, he told Kommersant he saw positive changes. I look at Russia and I see protests against corruption and so on. In Stalinist times that was impossible, he said. Perhaps not as quickly as we would want, but change is happening.

I believe in a big future for Russia, he added. Russia could become a real bridge between East and West.

The Dalai Lama was in New Delhi for the first ever conference of Russian and Buddhist scholars.

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Dalai Lama 'Dreams' of NATO Relocating to Moscow - The Moscow Times

By Army Staff Sgt. Aaron Duncan, U.S. Special Operations Command Europe

VAZIANI, Georgia, Aug. 16, 2017 Georgian special operations forces took part in exercise Noble Partner here July 30-Aug. 12, developing interoperability with conventional forces from not only their own military, but that of the U.S. and participating nations.

Noble Partner is an annual U.S. Army Europe-led exercise designed to support Georgias integration into the NATO Response Force. The exercise allows multinational partners to work together in a realistic and challenging training event. About 2,800 troops from Armenia, Georgia, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the U.S. participated in multiple locations across Georgia.

"In many ways, the exercise was a new way of operating for GSOF," said a U.S. Army Special Forces advisor to GSOF.

U.S. Special Operations Command Europe played an advisory role with GSOF during the exercise in order to mentor the Georgian SOF on building interoperability with U.S., Georgian and other multinational conventional forces.

"Soceurs contribution was very helpful," said a GSOF officer involved in the planning of the exercise. "They helped us understand the capabilities and procedures that allowed us to integrate with multinational forces. They also served as a link to coordinate our activities."

State Partnership Program

In addition to Soceur, the GSOF also worked closely with the Georgia National Guard. The two have participated in the State Partnership Program, which pairs U.S. states with 22 European nations and 65 worldwide, since 1994.

"Working with the GSOF was awesome," said Georgia Army National Guard Capt. Christopher Pulliam, commander of the 121st Infantry Regiment s Hotel Company. "Our mission set requires that we work in small teams that gather specific intel in the area of operations," he said. "The GSOF understand this and can use our intel to create a better understanding of the situation on the ground and react accordingly."

Pulliam's company conducted combined airborne operations alongside GSOF troops, and during the field exercise was assigned under their command, allowing GSOF to complete objectives through their coordinated efforts. With the Georgia Army National Guard conducting reconnaissance, GSOF was able to execute a raid on an enemy position.

The Georgian troops also worked with the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard during Noble Partner.

"This is the first time the Georgians have jumped from a C-130," said Georgia Air National Guard Lt. Col. Donald Pallone, the vice air commander of the 165th Airlift Wing. "They are learning from us and we are learning from them. This helps us build our interoperability and furthers the Georgia National Guards [state] partnership with the Georgians."

Call For Fire

GSOF also trained on calling for indirect fire working with the U.S. Air Forces 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron. This training also provided them the ability to learn the same procedures as their conventional forces and U.S. forces and share these procedures throughout GSOF.

"The Georgian military was very motivated and eager to learn how to incorporate indirect fires control to enhance their combat capabilities," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Justin Tamayo, a joint terminal attack controller with the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron. "We were able to train both the GSOF and conventional parties simultaneously, and from the classes we taught we are confident that interoperability was strengthened amongst their military as well as with U.S. forces and partner nations."

GSOF also trained on their military assistance mission by training Georgian and Ukrainian conventional forces on the tactics and procedures of clearing rooms and passing through friendly defensive lines.

"To be able to accomplish its military assistance mission, GSOF must be able to teach classes and train other soldiers," said the U.S. Army Special Forces advisor to GSOF. "Teaching and training is a skill that must be practiced. Noble Partner was a great opportunity for GSOF to build its military assistance skills while also improving the combat skills of Georgian and Ukrainian infantry."

The ability to plan training that involves both internal and multinational military forces is in itself a skill that has to be learned. Noble Partner provided the chance for GSOF staff to build upon their capability to conduct such training.

"This was a new experience for us," said a GSOF officer involved in the planning of the exercise. "It allowed us to develop how we will work with conventional and multinational forces in the future."

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark Schwartz, the commander of Soceur, visited with GSOF leadership and observed soldiers participating in the exercise. During his visit, GSOF briefed Schwartz on upcoming exercise events and how GSOF plans to continue developing their interoperability with conventional forces.

"In the future, if GSOF and multinational forces have to work together, training together will allow us to understand how to work fluently with each other," said a team leader from the GSOF company conducting the training. "It will help us integrate our tactics with theirs and direct their efforts with ours."

Read more here:
Noble Partner Supports Georgia's NATO Response Force Integration - Department of Defense

TheSpec.com

Many citizens of NATO prefer Putin TheSpec.com WASHINGTON Vladimir Putin is more trusted than Donald Trump to do the right thing for the world among citizens of numerous U.S. allies, including Japan, South Korea and seven European NATO members, according to a survey released Wednesday. and more »

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Many citizens of NATO prefer Putin - TheSpec.com

As a result, this regular event receives a lot more attention than other Russian manoeuvers of similar size. Held every four years, the exercise can even develop its own mythology: Much of the Western coverage said that the 2009 exercise ended with a simulated nuclear attack on Warsaw, Poland, even though there is no evidence at all from unclassified sources to suggest this was the case.

What happens during this year's Zapad exercise is important. The United States, NATO and especially the front-line states bordering Russia will be watching closely to learn what they can about the latest Russian capabilities and military procedures.

But unlike those exercises, Zapad is not a purely Russian undertaking. It is run in cooperation with Belarus.

Belarus finds itself in the difficult position of being officially an ally of Russia's but not sharing Moscow's antagonism toward the West and wanting instead to remain neutral in the confrontation between Russia and NATO.

But at the same time, the country shares NATO's concern about the danger of inadvertent conflict in the region, and is looking for ways to avoid inflaming the situation.

Belarus is pushing for openness to the West during the exercises -- which will also help ensure that Russia does not take the opportunity to deviate from the exercise scenario to launch some kind of unfriendly action.

And Belarus is running its own program of advance briefings for NATO and Western countries on how the exercise is to run, in parallel with information that Russia is providing.

There has been little public discussion on what the "staying behind" option might actually look like. While major Russian units remaining on Belarusian territory seems a remote prospect, another possibility that has been put forward is Russian military equipment being left there without troops, as part of pre-positioning for possible future Russian military action launched against neighbors such as Lithuania or Poland, or the so-called Suwaki gap, from Belarus itself.

But this too would require cooperation and agreement from Minsk, which does not fit with Belarus' track record of resisting attempts at increasing the amount of Russian military infrastructure in the country.

At the same time, Russia has good reason at the moment to play down conflict instead of launching new military adventures. With a strong interest in rolling back sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe, Moscow could choose to act calmly to defuse anti-Russian rhetoric and undermine those who warn of the Kremlin's aggressive intent.

As a result, Russia is currently mixing threatening language designed to intimidate the West with another, contradictory message: that those who fear a Russian military threat are "hysterical," "living in the last century," and hankering for the Cold War.

With the current level of Western alarm at possible developments of the upcoming exercise, if it comes to an end with no incident, then Moscow can quite readily say, "We told you so."

Read this article:
Russia's military exercises: Could they turn into war? - CNN

Coming to the rescue, slowly.

The D-Day landings in 1944 were the most complex military operation in history, but at least the GIs didnt need to get their passports stamped on Omaha Beach. It sounds absurd, but today U.S. and NATO forces have to contend with such formalities, and more besides, as they go about their business of defending Europe.

Obviously, in the event of war, these bureaucratic impediments would be lifted. But so far as possible they should also be lifted for the purpose of preparing for war. Better coordination and compatibility among the allies requires a good hard look at the current arrangements.

Under U.S. leadership, NATOs military partners recently completed Operation Saber Guardian in Eastern Europe; involving 25,000 troops over 10 days, it was the largest such exercise this year. For militaries that have spent more than a decade focused on fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and the Middle East, it was a vital refresher course in conventional warfare. It also helped assure the Eastern European members that the West has their back.

Along the way, forces ran into all manner of speed bumps, literal and metaphorical. For example, when the commander of U.S. forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, was flying from Bulgaria to Romania to oversee a live-fire exercise on the Black Sea, he was told to land at a Romanian air base and clear customs. He endured a similar situation involving passports in Hungary.

Forces moving eastward were unable to use roads and bridges with strict vehicle weight limits. Others ran afoul of summer-travel rules and noise ordinances. Some airports, railways and tunnels proved unable to handle newer military planes and trucks. In general,NATOs 28 members require an average of15 daysfor diplomatic clearance before troops or military equipment can move across their borders.

All this has led Hodges to call for a military Schengen Zone, modeled on the European Union agreement allowing unhindered travel across borders. At a NATO meeting in June, Dutch Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called for this to be done. It isnt straightforward: For one thing, some EU members arent part of NATO. But Schengen is an apt model. As Hodges puts it, NATO needs something that would allow a military convoy to move across Europe as fast as a migrant is able to move across Europe.

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Russia, emboldened by its easy annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, is about to stage an exercise involving as many as100,000 troops on its western border. The alliance and the U.S. have also stepped up their presence lately, rotating an additional four armored combat brigades, some 4,500 troops each, through Poland and the Balticstates. Still, NATOs easternmost members are feeling increasingly vulnerable.

Nobody wants war, but projecting a credible response is a vital part of deterrence. The Kremlin can hardly feel imperiled by a NATO force hemmed in by customs officials.

--Editors: Tobin Harshaw, Clive Crook.

To contact the senior editor responsible for Bloomberg Views editorials: David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net .

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NATO Troops Can't Fight If They're Stuck at Customs - Bloomberg - Bloomberg

The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View:

The D-Day landings in 1944 were the most complex military operation in history, but at least the GIs didnt need to get their passports stamped on Omaha Beach. It sounds absurd, but today U.S. and NATO forces have to contend with such formalities, and more besides, as they go about their business of defending Europe.

Obviously, in the event of war, these bureaucratic impediments would be lifted. But so far as possible they should also be lifted for the purpose of preparing for war. Better coordination and compatibility among the allies requires a good hard look at the current arrangements.

Under U.S. leadership, NATOs military partners recently completed Operation Saber Guardian in Eastern Europe; involving 25,000 troops over 10 days, it was the largest such exercise this year. For militaries that have spent more than a decade focused on fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and the Middle East, it was a vital refresher course in conventional warfare. It also helped assure the Eastern European members that the West has their back.

Along the way, forces ran into all manner of speed bumps, literal and metaphorical. For example, when the commander of U.S. forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, was flying from Bulgaria to Romania to oversee a live-fire exercise on the Black Sea, he was told to land at a Romanian air base and clear customs. He endured a similar situation involving passports in Hungary.

Forces moving eastward were unable to use roads and bridges with strict vehicle weight limits. Others ran afoul of summer-travel rules and noise ordinances. Some airports, railways and tunnels proved unable to handle newer military planes and trucks. In general, NATOs 28 members require an average of 15 days for diplomatic clearance before troops or military equipment can move across their borders.

All this has led Hodges to call for a military Schengen Zone, modeled on the European Union agreement allowing unhindered travel across borders. At a NATO meeting in June, Dutch Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called for this to be done. It isnt straightforward: For one thing, some EU members arent part of NATO. But Schengen is an apt model. As Hodges puts it, NATO needs something that would allow a military convoy to move across Europe as fast as a migrant is able to move across Europe.

Russia, emboldened by its easy annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, is about to stage an exercise involving as many as 100,000 troops on its western border. The alliance and the U.S. have also stepped up their presence lately, rotating an additional four armored combat brigades, some 4,500 troops each, through Poland and the Baltic states. Still, NATOs easternmost members are feeling increasingly vulnerable.

Nobody wants war, but projecting a credible response is a vital part of deterrence. The Kremlin can hardly feel imperiled by a NATO force hemmed in by customs officials.

Excerpt from:
Other Views: NATO troops can't fight while stuck at border - Yakima Herald-Republic

More than 1760 messages from Italy's office at the EU in Brussels and from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs were stolen between 2013 and 2016 by hackers linked to Russia and China, according to an investigation by Italian daily Repubblica.

The cyber attacks occurred at times when key decisions were being taken on Iran and the Ukraine in the last few years.

According to a special investigation by Repubblica, several confidential diplomatic cables on Syria and Libya were also intercepted or hacked by the Russian hacker group Apt 28, which cyber experts say has links to Russian government security forces.

Other hacks were effected by K3chang and Zegost, both groups believed to have links to the Chinese government, claims the report.

Information about NATO exercises, migration policy in the Mediterranean and energy pipelines were hacked, according to the Repubblica investigation. Discussions about Russia sanctions were also stored on the same servers.

According to another study by Italy's largest daily Repubblica, more than 100,000 computers used by the Italian army could have been penetrated. The computers' software 15-years-old and not updated since 2015 is run by Araknos Srl.

Araknos became part of the Italian military industrial complex in the early 2000s, effectively becoming the partner of choice for cyber security in the Italian army, claims Repubblica's report.

Up until 2010 the company's AKAB software fought off most cyber attack attempts. But when the Italian government decided to sign a contract with a new cyber security firm, Araknos slowly fell into decline and finally closed in 2015.

Italy's Ministry of Defence claimed all its networks were "well protected" in response to the Repubblica investigation, arguing that it's AKAB-dependent softwares are not in active use.

READ MORE: G7 finance chiefs talk cyber security in Bari after attacks

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NATO, the Med, Iran: study details extent of cyber attacks on Italy - The Local Italy

Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis warned that tensions between the U.S. and North Korea are in "an upward spiral," and urgedPresident Trump to pursue a diplomatic solution to the current standoff between the two countries.

"We're in an upward spiral of very aggressive rhetoric both from Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, and President Trump," Stavridis told radio host John Catsimatidis in an interview that aired Sunday. "That rhetoric is driving both militaries to a higher level of readiness to conduct operations.

"The good news is we still have a diplomatic path to play here, and I'm hopeful as the week unfolds we'll see cooler heads prevail both in Washington and Pyongyang," he added.

Stavridis, who previously served as chief of U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander of NATO, said that the Trump administration should stop casting current tensions with Pyongyang as a U.S. problem.

Instead, he said, the president should seek to "internationalize" the issue to encourage cooperation from other countries.

"What we need to do is increase our missile defense capability," he said. "We need to internationalize this problem instead of treating it as though it's the United States versus North Korea. This should be about the world versus North Korea."

Tensions have soared between Washington and Pyongyang in recent days, after Trump threatened on Tuesday to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea if the reclusive country continued to threaten the U.S.

That warning came amid reports that the North had successfully developed a nuclear warhead small enough to fit inside one of its missiles a major milestone in the country's pursuit to become a nuclear power.

North Korea's military followed up on Trump's threat Wednesday, saying it would have plans in place by mid-August to strike the waters near the U.S. territory of Guam.

Since then, Trump and North Korea's government have exchanged tough talk, stoking global concerns of a military conflict betweenWashington and Pyongyang.

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Ex-NATO supreme commander: 'We're in bad upward spiral' with North Korea - The Hill

Thomas Oppermann, Bundestag faction leader of the German Social Democrats (SPD) | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Thomas Opperman, the SPDs parliamentary leader, doubled down on partys opposition to defense spending target backed by NATO members.

By Connor Murphy

8/10/17, 9:23 AM CET

Updated 8/10/17, 10:57 AM CET

The parliamentary leader of Germanys Social Democratic Party (SPD) rejected NATOs 2 percent of GDP defense spending target and called for strategic investment in the German armed forces in an interview published Thursday.

We think this is the wrong way, and with the SPD in the government there will be no such thing, Thomas Oppermann told Rheinische Post.

Opperman called for greater investment in Germanys Bundeswehr, rather than adhering to an he said he considers an arbitrary spending goal. Defense expenditures will increase, but this must not be followed by an irrelevant quotas logic, but a comprehensive security logic, he said.

A new SPD position paper, which Oppermann is due to in Berlin Thursday, will call for more parliamentary involvement in the development of the German armed forces, according to the Rheinische Post report.

Defense Minister Ursula Von der Leyen on Monday defended the 2 percent spending commitment which was agreed by NATO member states in 2006 saying it was in Europes best interest that Berlin keeps its word on reaching the NATO target. The SPDs rhetoric, she added, was part of a totally messed up election campaign.

Inan oped co-authored with SPD leader and Merkel-challenger Martin Schulz, the SPD official harshly criticized Von der Leyen on Sunday for pledging to step up military spending to reach the NATO target by 2024.

That would require almost doubling the current defense spending level of 37 billion, making Germany the largest military force in Europe a bad idea because of our past, Schulz and Opperman argued, suggesting moving forward on the development of a pan-European army force instead.

The SPD continues to trail the CDU by double-digits in the polls, ahead of the election on September 24.

This article has been updated.

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German Social Democrats rule out NATO defense spending target - POLITICO.eu