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• AFP reports NATO said in a statement Tuesday that more than 40,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen from more than 25 countries will take part in a major NATO exercise starting Friday in Norway and Poland. The dispatch further quotes the statement saying the two-week exercise, codenamed "Strong Resolve," aims to practice NATO’s ability to conduct operations in response to two separate and simultaneous crises in different geographic regions. Highlighting Romania’s participation in the exercise, Bucharest Rompres, Feb. 25, quoted Romanian Maj. Gen. Paraniac saying that Strong Resolve was "a tough exam for us by which we will and must prove that the Romanian Army is compatible with the NATO member states’ armies." According to the report, he voiced hope that the appraisal of the Romanian military in the action would contribute to the consolidation of the Alliance’s confidence in Romania’s capability to cope with NATO missions, in the perspective of the country’s integration within the organization.

NATO’s plan to develop a closer relationship with Russia continues to generate interest. Media generally link the plan to preparations for a future Alliance enlargement, which media widely expect will include the three Baltic states.

Diplomats said Monday a transformation of NATO is emerging as it prepares parallel moves to bring in up to seven new East European members while simultaneously upgrading relations with Moscow, writes the International Herald Tribune. The package, set to receive tentative approval this week in Brussels, could receive final clearance at the NATO summit in Prague in November. It would provide for a so-called "big bang" enlargement extending NATO membership to countries along Russia’s western frontier, including the three Baltic states, claims the newspaper. It adds that the proposal also would give Russia a formal voice within the Alliance on selected matters such as peacekeeping operations and other areas of presumed common interest, including cooperation against nuclear proliferation. But it would fall far short of granting full membership or even a Russian veto on Alliance military decisions. The article observes that there is no explicit linkage between NATO’s expansion and upgraded ties with Russia, but the negotiations on both issues have proceeded simultaneously. It stresses that significantly, NATO’s plan could turn up the group from a defensive military alliance into a more political organization that underpins security throughout the European continent. A change along these lines would deepen the current doubts about NATO’s future military importance, and even its survival in its old Cold War role as a crucible for forging collective transatlantic security policy between the United States and its European allies. With the inclusion of East European nations and a greater role for Moscow, NATO seems likely to become less crucial as a forum for western decision-making in major military conflicts, the article warns. It quotes an unidentified official saying, however, that NATO can remain militarily valuable as "a toolbox" of allied forces. The official reportedly explained that the Alliance amounted to a pool of armed forces with similar operational doctrines that could fit into alliances of the willing led by the United States—or perhaps the EU in regional crises.

"NATO offers Russia new role, but without any veto," writes the New York Times, quoting NATO officials and diplomats saying Monday that NATO has offered Russia a new form of relationship that will see a Russian ambassador sitting between Portugal and Spain at meetings to discuss and decide significant issues of mutual concern. The newspaper stresses, however, that according to the officials, NATO will retain the right to make its own decision and meet with only its 19 full members in attendance. Russia will not have a veto over any NATO political or military policies. Any decisions that prove too difficult to make in consensus with Russia can be pulled off the agenda by the request of any member.

Under the title, "Russia to have more influence within NATO," Dutch daily De Volkskrant remarks that the Alliance is increasingly interested in good relations with Russia since it will soon make decisions on its future enlargement.

Asked in an interview with Der Spiegel, Feb. 25, whether there was a risk that an enlarged NATO would undermine the Alliance’s decision-making process, NATO Secretary General Robertson replied: "When it was founded, NATO had 12 members. There are now 19 of us, and we managed to reach the unanimous decision on our largest military action so far. When the political will exists for defense issues, then it does not matter how many states are represented here. But there are some administrative matters that need to be changed." In this respect, he explained that "consensus building remains necessary for absolutely everything here," and noted: "I can speak to the President of the United State about the actions being taken against Al Qaeda cells and in the Balkans, but I am not allowed to move even the tiniest budgetary item out of one area into another." Asked if he wanted more power, Lord Robertson continued: "Yes, more executive power, but subject to the scrutiny of the North Atlantic Council. For example, NATO’s civilian budget is fixed by a committee with 19 members. This has total authority, without any responsibility. I have total responsibility, and no authority. This is something we have to change." Lord Robertson also insisted that the Prague summit must be a summit for transformation, not just a summit for enlargement. "It must address our new roles, and the question of resources we are going to find for them," he insisted.

Under the title, "Axis of the Atlantic," a commentary in the Christian Science Monitor, remarks that key decisions will be made by May on how much voice Russia will be given within NATO. And by November, NATO will decide which states or republics of the former Soviet empire will be invited to NATO. Stressing that handling Russia requires Europe and the United States to be on the same page, the newspaper says: "The cries of anti-U.S. resentment heard from Europe are partly emotional, but also partly a concern that the U.S. is molding a new world too much in its interests, noble as they may be. Treating Europe as an equal can help refresh an old alliance."

ISAF

• According to The Daily Telegraph, the British Defense Ministry is making plans to go back on a Government promise that British troops would be pulled out of Afghanistan within three months. The newspaper recalls that Britain’s leadership of ISAF was made conditional on it only doing so for half of the force’s six-month term. It claims, however, that both the British ISAF headquarters and the British infantry contribution will now be replaced by fresh British units. In another development, AP reports that a White House spokesman made clear Monday that President Bush still wants the U.S. military used only to fight and win wars. But, he reportedly said, the United States is talking with allies and considering how to strengthen security forces now inside Afghanistan to keep the country from falling into chaos. The commander of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Franks, said options include expansion of ISAF. He ruled out making peacekeepers of the U.S. troops, adds the dispatch. It quotes Ivo Daalder, an analyst at the Brookings Institution, noting, however, that the sticking point is that U.S. allies have been unwilling to commit to a larger peacekeeping force unless the United States also commits more troops.

OTHER NEWS

• Reuters reports that after a storm of criticisms over the Pentagon’s new Strategic Information Office, President Bush vowed Monday that Washington would not lie to Americans on defense policy. The dispatch notes that Bush made his promise as Defense Secretary Rumsfeld ordered the Pentagon to study whether the office should be scrapped based on concern over reports that the military might use it to spread false information to foreign journalists and others to bolster U.S. policy. The New York Times says the Pentagon appeared increasingly likely Monday to eliminate a new office intended to influence public opinion and policy makers overseas, as President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld distanced themselves from the operation. While a related article in Italy’s Corriere della Sera writes that "America does not lies. Bush orders the closure of office of lies," Dutch daily De Volkskrant says: "U.S. administration puts an end to office of lies."

• According to Die Welt, the U.S. Department of Defense has considered the European airplane manufacturer Airbus for the first time for a contract worth billions of dollars. The EADS company in Paris reportedly announced that Airbus was asked to make a concrete proposal for the delivery of a hundred tanker aircraft for the U.S. Air Force.

 FINAL ITEM