NATO

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NATO conducted important business during its 59th summit in Romania that goes well beyond its extension of invitations to two new members -- Albania and Croatia. Besides the formalities of enlarging the alliance, NATO completed the key task of affirming its shared, long-term commitment to Afghanistan by agreeing to a comprehensive political-military Strategic Plan endorsed not only by alliance members but by NATO partners contributing to the International Security Assistance Force. Various new offerings were made during the summit, including NATO’s commitment to equip 80,000 Afghan army forces by 2012. France also promised a battalion for Afghanistan. While Georgia and Ukraine were not endorsed to begin Membership Action Plans, the final communiqué did single them out for future membership. President Bush said the Georgians and Ukrainians are inspirational and expressed his pleasure that NATO indicated both will join. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said NATO’s statement on Georgia and Ukraine took the dreams of the two nations for membership from “the realm of whether [they would join] and put … [them] into the realm of when.” The alliance will assess their progress as part of its open-door policy during a December meeting.

U.S. Defense Secretary Gates and German Minister of Defense Josef sign a defense agreement in Munich, Germany, on February 9, 2008. Photo: U.S. Department of DefenseLeaders from NATO’s 26 member states unanimously welcomed Albania and Croatia into the trans-Atlantic alliance, a move that President Bush says will further the cause of freedom and security in Europe. “Both these nations have demonstrated the ability and the willingness to provide strong and enduring contributions to NATO,” Bush said. “Albania and Croatia are ready for the responsibility NATO brings, and they will make outstanding members of this alliance.” Bush’s remarks followed an April 3 meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principal decision-making body. The council also pledged to strengthen the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and expressed support for a U.S. partnership with the Czech Republic and Poland to develop a Europe-based limited missile defense system. As new members, Croatia and Albania have graduated from the Membership Action Plan (MAP) –- a multiyear process of intensive engagement to help aspiring members complete the necessary political, economic and military reforms before applying for membership in the alliance’s community of democracies. Membership for Macedonia, a third MAP candidate, was put on hold because of a long-running dispute with NATO member Greece, which objects to the Balkan state’s sharing the name of one of its northern regions.

2008: State's Fried: The Bucharest Summit and the Way Forward for NATO (Apr 23, 2008) | Volker’s Speech at Heritage Foundation on NATO’s Future (Apr 10, 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) | NATO Securing a Future of Freedom, Bush Says (Apr 2, 2008) (Speech) | Remarks by State’s Volker, Romanian Ambassador on NATO 2008 (Mar 24, 2008) | Rice Remarks at NATO’s Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brussels (Mar 7, 2008) | NATO Defense Ministers Prepare for April Summit (Fab 13, 2008) | Defense Secretary Gates Speaks at Munich Conference on Security (Feb 10, 2008)

Victoria Nuland, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, urged young "European leaders of tomorrow" to build a stronger EU during a speech October 16, 2007, at the Institute of European Studies in Brussels. "Just as our unity in the second half of the 20th Century helped us defeat fascism and Soviet communism, in the 21st Century we’ve got to work together to defeat terror, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, to find fair and economic solutions to our hydrocarbon dependence, to lift the poor and heal the sick, particularly in those nations that are struggling to live democratically as we do, and also to combat the twin scourges of corruption and misgovernment," she said. "If in the last century we worked on problems like these individually with the nations of Europe, today a stronger, more capable EU means that we can increasingly draw on the institution to seek a common approach to common problems based on common interests and shared values," she said.

2007: 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) | Under Secretary Burns Elaborates on Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Transatlantic Community (Mar 26, 2007)

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). “The way we look at it is, NATO is the place where the U.S. and Europe come together on security and defense issues. When we act together, we should act through NATO,” he said. However, if the United States and Europe choose not to act together on some future operation, then an EU force might be appropriate instead, Volker said.

2006: NATO Chief Says 15 Allies and Sweden Plan To Buy C-17s (Nov 27, 2006) | State's Fried Discusses Russia, Georgia, and U.S.-EU Cooperation (Oct 20, 2006) | Civil-Military Exercise Improves Post-Conflict Teamwork (May 22, 2006) | State's Volker: U.S. Envisions Global Partnerships for NATO (Feb 6, 2006) | NATO International Security Assistance Force (Jan 31, 2006) | Slovenia To Join NATO Training Mission in Iraq (Jan 24, 2006) | Review of European Security Issues (Jan 17, 2006) | Bush, Belgian Prime Minister Discuss Trans-Atlantic Ties, Congo (Jan 17, 2006)

2005: Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council Meets During NATO Ministerial (Dec 9, 2005) | "Ukraine's Future Is in Its Hands," Says Assistant Secretary Fried (Jul 28, 2005) | State's Burns Discusses EU Enlargement, Middle East, China, NATO (Jun 29, 2005) | State Department Report, June 9: Burns Outlines U.S.-Europe Agenda (Jun 9, 2005) | NATO Ambassador-designate Calls for Strengthening Democracies (May 24, 2005) | Rice Says NATO Members in Clear Agreement on Alliance Agenda (Feb 9, 2005)