Defense

President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin charted the course ahead for their successors in their final presidential meeting, including steps toward a future missile defense system jointly operated by Europe, Russia and the United States. “We agree today that the United States and Russia want to create a system for responding to potential missile threats, in which Russia and the United States and Europe will participate as equal partners,” Bush told reporters April 6 at Putin’s presidential residence in the Black Sea coastal resort of Sochi, Russia. Bush called the development “a significant breakthrough.” The Sochi talks followed a 28-nation endorsement of ballistic missile defense at the 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest, Romania, and the Czech Republic’s announcement that it would host the system’s tracking radar. While Russia continues to disagree with the plan, it welcomed U.S. offers to monitor the project, which also involves installation of 10 interceptors in neighboring Poland. Bush and Putin further agreed to step up talks on building a jointly managed regional missile defense system, an idea Putin initially put forward during his 2007 visit to the Bush family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine. “Our U.S. partners not only understand our concerns, but are sincerely trying to overcome our concerns,” Putin said after the talks, expressing “cautious optimism,” for the plan. 

2008: Remarks by Maryruth Colman on Demining at Decennial Honorary Session (Apr 15, 2008) | Bush, Putin Chart Course Ahead for U.S.-Russian Relations (Apr 7, 2008) | NATO Summit Concludes with Commitments for Future Work (Apr 7, 2008) | Czech Republic, U.S. Agree to Missile Defense Radar Installation (Apr 3, 2008)

While citing the need for a new more strengthened multilateral approach to global security, Javier Solana, secretary-general of the Council of the European Union (EU), reports that U.S.-EU relations currently are going through a very good period. Solana was in Washington for a meeting of the EU foreign ministers, during which the group met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The former Spanish foreign minister and NATO secretary-general is also the high representative for the common foreign and security policy of the EU. The March 21 gathering comes as a lead up to the annual EU-U.S. Summit to be held in Washington on April 30. Although there have been tensions in the past on issues such as the war in Iraq, Solana told a Brookings Institution panel, "in the last month … in this positive time … relations between the EU and U.S. … are normal [as] between equals and friends. We have the same objectives in life -- we want to construct a better world to the best of our capabilities."

2007: President Bush Discusses Global War on Terror (Oct 23, 2007) (White House Outlines Need for Missile Defense System in Europe) | U.S. Ambassador to NATO Nuland Urges EU, NATO to Work Together (Oct 16, 2007) | U.S. Mission's Murray Discusses the U.S.-European Security Relationship (Sep 20, 2007) | Missile Defense System Could Include NATO, Russia’s Putin Says (Jul 2, 2007) (National Security Advisor Press Briefing (Jul 2, 2007)) | Azeri Radar Would Not Replace Czech Anti-Missile Site, U.S. Says (Jun 15, 2007) | White House Welcomes Russian Missile Defense Offer (Jun 7, 2007) | Bush Urges Russia To Reconsider Missile Defense (Jun 1, 2007) | Under Secretary Burns Elaborates on Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Transatlantic Community (Mar 26, 2007) (Video) | EU Chief Solana Cites Warm EU-U.S. Relations (Mar 22, 2007) | European Missile Defense Would Protect Against Mideast Threats (Mar 2, 2007)

An innovative school and research institute in Europe is helping to advance international understanding and regional stability in ways that reach beyond the vision of its founding. Staff members at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies recently shared their insights on the institution’s expanded role. The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies was founded 1993 as a way for the U.S. Defense Department and its European allies to reach out and build ties with military officers of former Soviet nations in a professional academic setting. Since then, the center has evolved into a multinational policy research entity and conference center that specializes in confronting terrorism and helping nations – especially emerging democracies -- integrate into or cooperate with the greater Euro-Atlantic security community. It is situated in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

2006: NATO Chief Says 15 Allies and Sweden Plan To Buy C-17s (Nov 27, 2006) | Civil-Military Exercise Improves Post-Conflict Teamwork (May 22, 2006) | Multinational Exercise Aims To Improve Post-Conflict Teamwork (Feb 14, 2006)

With NATO operating in parts of the world where it never operated before, the military alliance might start building new relationships with countries from Asia and elsewhere to make global missions more effective, says a senior official in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Kurt Volker, the bureau’s second-in-command, said February 6 that if NATO continues such far-flung missions as heading up the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and participating in peacekeeping efforts in Africa, “maybe we should create some kind of relationship” with other countries that are likely also to take part in crisis missions, peacekeeping or humanitarian support. U.S. officials also “strongly support” the strengthening of EU military capabilities “and don't see any reason why this should be in competition or conflict with NATO,” Volker said during a media roundtable in Brussels, Belgium, organized by the U.S. Mission to the European Union (EU).

State's Volker: U.S. Envisions Global Partnerships for NATO (Feb 10, 2006)

2005: U.S. Opposes Lifting of EU Embargo on Arms Sales to China (Nov 8, 2005) | U.S. Negotiating Use of Shared Mil. Bases in Romania, Bulgaria (Nov 4, 2005) | NATO Plans Summit in Late 2006 on Upgrading Forces (Nov 3, 2005)

2004: United States Firmly Committed to Conventional Arms Treaty (Nov 15, 2004)

2003: Brussels Conference on Transatlantic Defense Cooperation (Jul 18, 2003)