3 New Messages
Digest #4716
1
Special Envoy Prepares NATO Chief's Visit To Georgia by "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
2
Pentagon To Maintain "Bridging Force," "Enduring Force" In Afghanist by "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
3
Sixth Continent: U.S. To Back Colombia's NATO Membership by "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
Messages
Mon Jun 3, 2013 1:00 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.itar-
Itar-Tass
June 3, 2013
NATO special envoy arrives in Tbilisi to prepare Rasmussen’s visit to Georgia
TBILISI: NATO Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai said he arrived in Tbilisi to prepare a visit to Georgia by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen due to take place at the end of June.
Appathurai told journalists on Monday that he would be received by the Georgian president, the prime minister, the foreign minister and the defence minister. He said he would meet the Georgian state minister for European integration and the secretary of the Georgian Security Council.
Appathurai said the visit would also focus on issues which would be raised as part of Rasmussen’s trip to Georgia. He stressed that NATO supported all efforts taken by Georgia.
Appathurai will take part in opening NATO Week in Georgia. It will start on June 3 and last till June 10. The Week is organised by the Georgian Information Centre on NATO and the European Union under the auspices of the Georgian State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
In recent months Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said the Georgian government “believes it possible to normalise relations with Russia amidst the country’s drive for joining NATO”. He said, “If Mikhail Saakashvili does not make serious mistakes, Georgia could normalise relations with Russia several years ago and bring closer to NATO or join the Alliance.”
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Itar-Tass
June 3, 2013
NATO special envoy arrives in Tbilisi to prepare Rasmussen’s visit to Georgia
TBILISI: NATO Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai said he arrived in Tbilisi to prepare a visit to Georgia by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen due to take place at the end of June.
Appathurai told journalists on Monday that he would be received by the Georgian president, the prime minister, the foreign minister and the defence minister. He said he would meet the Georgian state minister for European integration and the secretary of the Georgian Security Council.
Appathurai said the visit would also focus on issues which would be raised as part of Rasmussen’s trip to Georgia. He stressed that NATO supported all efforts taken by Georgia.
Appathurai will take part in opening NATO Week in Georgia. It will start on June 3 and last till June 10. The Week is organised by the Georgian Information Centre on NATO and the European Union under the auspices of the Georgian State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
In recent months Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said the Georgian government “believes it possible to normalise relations with Russia amidst the country’s drive for joining NATO”. He said, “If Mikhail Saakashvili does not make serious mistakes, Georgia could normalise relations with Russia several years ago and bring closer to NATO or join the Alliance.”
============
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http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
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Mon Jun 3, 2013 1:00 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.stripes.
Stars and Stripes
June 3, 2013
Pentagon considering ‘bridging force’ in Afghanistan
By Chris Carroll Stars and Stripes
WASHINGTON: Pentagon planners are discussing an option that would temporarily leave a higher number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 to help the Afghan military gain its footing, a defense official said Monday.
The idea of leaving a short-term “bridging force” in addition to the longer-term force the United States hopes to keep in Afghanistan was first aired last week in a report whose authors include retired Gen. John Allen, recently the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Michèle Flournoy, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.
“(F)or two to three years after 2014, the United States may need an additional force package of several thousand personnel to help the Afghans finish building their air force, their special operations forces and certain other enablers in medical realms, in counter-IED capability and in intelligence collection,” said the report released by the Center for a New American Security. “This might be viewed as an additional bridging force, above and beyond the Enduring Force.”
A number of post-2014 options are now being considered, including the bridging force, said Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren.
“It’s certainly an idea that’s being discussed in many different setting and forums, including the Pentagon,” he said.
President Barack Obama hasn’t settled on a final number of troops the United States would keep in Afghanistan for a long-term training, advisory and counterterrorism mission, but defense leaders have endorsed a force 8,000 to 12,000 NATO troops.
While the future of Afghanistan will be high on the agenda of NATO defense ministerial meetings that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will attend this week in Brussels, Warren said discussion is likely to focus on the “larger game plan” rather than specific numbers.
The report by Allen, Flournoy and Brooking Institution senior fellow Michael O’Hanlon also did not recommend a specific number for the bridging force, but it urged the Obama administration to announce its post-2014 plans soon.
It also warned that a too-quick drawdown between now and December 2014, or insufficient support after 2014 “would risk snatching defeat from the jaws of something that could still resemble victory.”
============
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http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
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============
Stars and Stripes
June 3, 2013
Pentagon considering ‘bridging force’ in Afghanistan
By Chris Carroll Stars and Stripes
WASHINGTON: Pentagon planners are discussing an option that would temporarily leave a higher number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 to help the Afghan military gain its footing, a defense official said Monday.
The idea of leaving a short-term “bridging force” in addition to the longer-term force the United States hopes to keep in Afghanistan was first aired last week in a report whose authors include retired Gen. John Allen, recently the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Michèle Flournoy, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.
“(F)or two to three years after 2014, the United States may need an additional force package of several thousand personnel to help the Afghans finish building their air force, their special operations forces and certain other enablers in medical realms, in counter-IED capability and in intelligence collection,” said the report released by the Center for a New American Security. “This might be viewed as an additional bridging force, above and beyond the Enduring Force.”
A number of post-2014 options are now being considered, including the bridging force, said Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren.
“It’s certainly an idea that’s being discussed in many different setting and forums, including the Pentagon,” he said.
President Barack Obama hasn’t settled on a final number of troops the United States would keep in Afghanistan for a long-term training, advisory and counterterrorism mission, but defense leaders have endorsed a force 8,000 to 12,000 NATO troops.
While the future of Afghanistan will be high on the agenda of NATO defense ministerial meetings that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will attend this week in Brussels, Warren said discussion is likely to focus on the “larger game plan” rather than specific numbers.
The report by Allen, Flournoy and Brooking Institution senior fellow Michael O’Hanlon also did not recommend a specific number for the bridging force, but it urged the Obama administration to announce its post-2014 plans soon.
It also warned that a too-quick drawdown between now and December 2014, or insufficient support after 2014 “would risk snatching defeat from the jaws of something that could still resemble victory.”
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Tue Jun 4, 2013 6:24 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.rawstory
Agence France-Presse
June 4, 2013
U.S. might support Colombia NATO bid: State Department official
The United States might support a bid by Colombia for NATO membership just as it has backed the close Latin American ally in other international fora, a senior State Department official said Monday.
“Our goal is certainly to support Colombia as being a capable and strong member of lots of different international organizations, and that might well include NATO,” said Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs.
“Ultimately this is a decision that all of the NATO members would have to make,” she added.
Colombia this month will sign a cooperation agreement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a view ultimately to membership, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday.
“It is not all that surprising that the Colombians are interested in where else they would be able to interact,” Jacobson said.
Bolivian President Evo Morales called the move a “provocation” and a threat to “anti-imperialist” countries like Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua or Ecuador.
He said he was prepared to ask for a meeting of UNASUR, a grouping that includes most South American countries, to discuss the issue.
Jacobson would not comment on Morales’s statements.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, will meet Tuesday in Antigua, Guatemala, with foreign ministers from around the region at a gathering of the Organization of American States focused on counter-drug policies.
“He’s looking forward to that conversation,” said Jacobson. “There’s a very strong coincidences of views.”
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http://en.mercopres
MercoPress
June 4, 2013
Strong reaction from Bolivarian countries to Colombia’s cooperation with NATO
President Juan Manuel Santos announcement over the weekend that Colombia will look for a cooperation understanding with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) on their invitation, has irked the so called Latin American group of ‘anti-imperialist countries’, at a moment when relations between neighbouring Colombia and Venezuela have hit a new low.
“A threat for Bolivarian countries” claimed Bolivia’s Evo Morales who requested an urgent meeting of Unasur Sec Council
Bolivian president Evo Morales took as a fact that Colombia is planning to join NATO...and claimed the move was a ‘threat’, a ‘provocation’ and a conspiracy against the “anti-imperialist Bolivarian countries” of the continent.
Morales added that the threat was geared against Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Venezuela, the country with which Colombia has had a serious diplomatic clash following the meeting of President Santos at the Government house, Palacio Nariño, with Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles.
The opposition leader does not consider President Nicolas Maduro and his government as legitimate since he argues there was “a notorious ballot fraud in the recent disputed election”.
“In June, NATO will sign an agreement with the Colombian government, with the Defense Ministry, to start a process of rapprochement and cooperation, with an eye toward also joining that organization,” Santos said at a military promotion ceremony.
Santos said the army could become an international player if his government can bring off a peace deal as it is trying to do, with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It is Latin America'
“If we can achieve peace, the army will be in a place where it will be able to distinguish itself internationally as well. We are already doing it on many fronts,” he said.
...
But from Brussels a reliable source explained that Colombia does not comply with the “geographic criteria” for membership. However a NATO spokesperson said that they are working on a draft agreement that would allow “the exchange of classified information between Colombia and the alliance”, but underlined “there are no plans to establish a formal association”.
So far the two sides are exploring “the possibility of going ahead with joint specific activities”.
But despite NATO’s comments on the issue, Morales insisted that it was “a threat for the region” and called on UNASUR Secretary General Ali Rodriguez from Venezuela to call an “emergency meeting” of the block’s Security Council.
“How is it possible that Colombia wants to be a member of NATO? What for? To have NATO commit aggression against Latinamerica, so they can invade us, as they have done in Europe, Africa and Asia?, said Morales.
In a similar reaction Venezuelan president Maduro said that “we can’t ally ourselves to war projects in the world, to nuclear weapons; we must be a territory free of nuclear weapons and dedicated to peace”.
Daniel Ortega from Nicaragua was more emphatic: “that a Latin American country wants to join NATO; it will only be an instrument for a policy to debilitate and try to destroy the current union process that the region is undergoing”.
“Latin America can’t open itself to governments and armed forces from other continents. I would be madness and treason to Bolivar and the liberators of our peoples”, added Ortega.
However Santos is not the first Latam president that has flirted with NATO and with the idea of close links. Argentina’s Carlos Menem did something similar back in 1999, the last year of his second mandate, and which meant Argentina would be accepted as an “associate member” of NATO, which finally never occurred.
Agence France-Presse
June 4, 2013
U.S. might support Colombia NATO bid: State Department official
The United States might support a bid by Colombia for NATO membership just as it has backed the close Latin American ally in other international fora, a senior State Department official said Monday.
“Our goal is certainly to support Colombia as being a capable and strong member of lots of different international organizations, and that might well include NATO,” said Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs.
“Ultimately this is a decision that all of the NATO members would have to make,” she added.
Colombia this month will sign a cooperation agreement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a view ultimately to membership, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday.
“It is not all that surprising that the Colombians are interested in where else they would be able to interact,” Jacobson said.
Bolivian President Evo Morales called the move a “provocation” and a threat to “anti-imperialist” countries like Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua or Ecuador.
He said he was prepared to ask for a meeting of UNASUR, a grouping that includes most South American countries, to discuss the issue.
Jacobson would not comment on Morales’s statements.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, will meet Tuesday in Antigua, Guatemala, with foreign ministers from around the region at a gathering of the Organization of American States focused on counter-drug policies.
“He’s looking forward to that conversation,” said Jacobson. “There’s a very strong coincidences of views.”
------------
http://en.mercopres
MercoPress
June 4, 2013
Strong reaction from Bolivarian countries to Colombia’s cooperation with NATO
President Juan Manuel Santos announcement over the weekend that Colombia will look for a cooperation understanding with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) on their invitation, has irked the so called Latin American group of ‘anti-imperialist countries’, at a moment when relations between neighbouring Colombia and Venezuela have hit a new low.
“A threat for Bolivarian countries” claimed Bolivia’s Evo Morales who requested an urgent meeting of Unasur Sec Council
Bolivian president Evo Morales took as a fact that Colombia is planning to join NATO...and claimed the move was a ‘threat’, a ‘provocation’ and a conspiracy against the “anti-imperialist Bolivarian countries” of the continent.
Morales added that the threat was geared against Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Venezuela, the country with which Colombia has had a serious diplomatic clash following the meeting of President Santos at the Government house, Palacio Nariño, with Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles.
The opposition leader does not consider President Nicolas Maduro and his government as legitimate since he argues there was “a notorious ballot fraud in the recent disputed election”.
“In June, NATO will sign an agreement with the Colombian government, with the Defense Ministry, to start a process of rapprochement and cooperation, with an eye toward also joining that organization,” Santos said at a military promotion ceremony.
Santos said the army could become an international player if his government can bring off a peace deal as it is trying to do, with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It is Latin America'
“If we can achieve peace, the army will be in a place where it will be able to distinguish itself internationally as well. We are already doing it on many fronts,” he said.
...
But from Brussels a reliable source explained that Colombia does not comply with the “geographic criteria” for membership. However a NATO spokesperson said that they are working on a draft agreement that would allow “the exchange of classified information between Colombia and the alliance”, but underlined “there are no plans to establish a formal association”.
So far the two sides are exploring “the possibility of going ahead with joint specific activities”.
But despite NATO’s comments on the issue, Morales insisted that it was “a threat for the region” and called on UNASUR Secretary General Ali Rodriguez from Venezuela to call an “emergency meeting” of the block’s Security Council.
“How is it possible that Colombia wants to be a member of NATO? What for? To have NATO commit aggression against Latinamerica, so they can invade us, as they have done in Europe, Africa and Asia?, said Morales.
In a similar reaction Venezuelan president Maduro said that “we can’t ally ourselves to war projects in the world, to nuclear weapons; we must be a territory free of nuclear weapons and dedicated to peace”.
Daniel Ortega from Nicaragua was more emphatic: “that a Latin American country wants to join NATO; it will only be an instrument for a policy to debilitate and try to destroy the current union process that the region is undergoing”.
“Latin America can’t open itself to governments and armed forces from other continents. I would be madness and treason to Bolivar and the liberators of our peoples”, added Ortega.
However Santos is not the first Latam president that has flirted with NATO and with the idea of close links. Argentina’s Carlos Menem did something similar back in 1999, the last year of his second mandate, and which meant Argentina would be accepted as an “associate member” of NATO, which finally never occurred.