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NATO

• AP reports NATO Secretary General Robertson said in Athens Thursday that NATO had decided to invite President Putin to a summit to be held in Rome on May 28, provided a final agreement is reached on the new NATO-Russia Council. Describing his statement as "a historic announcement," he reportedly added that "assuming that the final details are agreed and resolved, NATO and Russia will open a new chapter, a remarkable chapter in world strategic relations….. This summit meeting will turn the history of the Cold War on its head." Reuters quotes a NATO official, who asked not to be named, saying the summit was conditional on foreign ministers of the 19 NATO countries and Russia agreeing on details of the new forum at a May 14-15 meeting in Reykjavik.

In a contribution to Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, April 16, Vice Adm. Cutler Dawson, the commander of the U.S. Second Fleet and of NATO’s Striking Fleet Atlantic, explains that NATO’s new military relevance is becoming clearer.

The war on terrorism now rightly dominates our focus. But other threats to peace and stability still abound: state-on-state conflict, failed governments, fallen economies, disease and disaster. NATO is well-prepared to deal with these complexities, Adm. Dawson wrote. He highlighted NATO’s contribution to peace in the Balkans, stressing that "nobody trains for these difficult missions like NATO." Based on observations he made during Strong Resolve 2002, which he noted, tested NATO’s ability to handle two rapidly developing crises in two widely separate regions, Adm. Dawson concluded: "NATO is moving in the right direction militarily. The Alliance trains vigorously for the broad spectrum of military threats we face today; it has aircraft patrolling our skies and troops stationed across Europe, securing better lives for tens of thousands of people, and its political leadership now advocates an even stronger investment in its military machine. NATO not military relevant? Think again."

ESDP

• According to AFP, NATO Secretary General Robertson said in Athens Thursday that the Alliance needed to agree on a defense pact with the EU at the earliest possible opportunity. "I didn’t come to Athens with any plan, I came with a message and that is that we must get these arrangements and we must get them very soon," Robertson reportedly said after talks with Prime Minister Simitis, pointing out that the EU is in interested in taking a leading role in peace-support operations in the Balkans. "I recognize that there are Greek concerns at the present moment and they must be addressed, but I also recognize that a solution must be found," he added. The dispatch notes that for his part, Simitis reiterated that Greece remained opposed to a possible compromise which would give non-member Turkey a say in the EU’s defense force. A related AP dispatch quotes Lord Robertson saying that a collective solution must be found soon to Greek objections. "When we have a collective problem, we need a collective solution," he reportedly said. He reportedly stressed, however, that the problem "must be urgently removed as soon as possible, before or by (NATO’s summit in Prague in November)."

BALKANS

• According to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, members of Germany’s Defense Committee said after a briefing by Defense Minister Scharping Thursday that the deployment of Bundeswehr soldiers in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia may be extended by another six months. Scharping was reportedly briefing committee members on the current situation in the Balkan country. The article observes that the UN mandate and therefore that of the troops ends in June and an extension must be approved by the Skopje government. Madrid’s EFE, April 17, quoted Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Foreign Minister Casule saying at a news conference in Madrid Wednesday that his country would accept EU troops replacing NATO counterparts in the Amber Fox mission. After talks with his Spanish counterpart, Josep Pique, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, Casule reportedly said his government would be prepared to "invite" the EU to take over the current NATO mandate. "We would prefer forces that understand the problem," he said, adding, however, that "if NATO and the EU have agreed on this, we will give the European troops a cordial welcome." He also indicated that his country is interested in an extension of the UN mandate.

• AFP reports that the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes, Pierre-Richard Prosper, stressed in Sarajevo Thursday that the United States will work hard with NATO to arrest Bosnian Serb war crimes suspects Karadzic and Mladic. He also said the U.S. would continue to use its "Rewards for Justice" program offering up to $5 million in information leading to the arrests and was also prepared to offer relocation of any person and their immediate family who is willing to provide assistance in this regard. Another AFP dispatch claims meanwhile that Mladic’s arrest was at the top of ICTY chief prosecutor Del Ponte’s talks in Belgrade Thursday.

• International media report the head of the Dutch Army, Gen. Van Baal, resigned Thursday, a day after the cabinet took responsibility for the Srebrenica massacre. The Defense Ministry is quoted saying Van Baal had decided "he could no longer exercise his duties as army chief to the best of his ability but felt that his integrity was not compromised by the report (on Srebrenica)."

UNITED STATES-DEFENSE

• Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports senior officials confirmed Wednesday that the Pentagon will slash the responsibilities of a major Norfolk-based military command, shifting functions related to homeland defense to a new four-star command that likely will be headquartered in Colorado. According to the newspaper, the officials said the creation of the U.S. Northern Command will strip the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk of any direct involvement in war fighting and take away its highest profile domestic activity—a task force assigned to help civilian authorities respond to terrorist attacks. Stressing that the realignment could cost the Norfolk command its long-standing leadership role in NATO, the newspaper quotes Gen. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying that because the Joint Forces Command no longer will have a geographic area of responsibility—it had been in charge of defending the North Atlantic and the U.S. Atlantic coast—"we think it’s wise to look at whether (it) still ought to have the SACLANT hat." The article notes, however, that Gen. Myers said the ultimate decision on SACLANT is up to NATO. "We’re only one of 19 voices," he suggested, and acknowledged that there is sentiment among the allies for keeping a SACLANT headquarters somewhere in the continental United States. The Pentagon Wednesday unveiled an overhaul of its preparations for fighting future wars, creating a new combat command responsible for protecting the North American continent from terrorist attacks, says a related article in the Financial Times. It adds that the largest change is the creation of a new Northern Command, which will be responsible for defense of the U.S. mainland, Canada and Mexico, primarily against the threat of further terrorist attacks. Under the title, "U.S. reshapes its military to meet terrorism threat," The Times explains that the reorganization is part of a broader policy shift, including a change in spending priorities, which recognizes that the Cold War enemies are gone and the military needs to be primed to tackle new threats.

The expansion of EUCOM’s responsibilities to include Russia are noted. Typifying the view of most media, the Washington Post highlights that the move amounts to another recognition that the Cold War is over.

Meanwhile, the Stars and Stripes quotes Gen. Ralston saying in a statement, in his capacity as EUCOM commander: "This will be the first time a United States unified war-fighting command has ever included Russia in its (area of responsibility). … This new plan is a natural outgrowth from post-Cold War relationships and fosters enhanced relations with former adversaries that are now among our strongest partners. This is a strong testament to the encouraging evolution of the relationships we’ve developed over the years with Russia."

MIDDLE EAST

In the Washington Post, Robert Kagan, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, observes that the idea of putting a NATO peacekeeping force on the ground between the Israeli and Palestinians as a key part of an overall peace settlement "is actually starting to pick up steam around the world." However, he suggests that the proposal looks less like a real plan than a desperate if noble attempt to solve the insoluble in the Middle East.

 FINAL ITEM