• “Is NATO Relevant?” Sarwar Kashmeri with UK MP Mike Gapes, on Skynews

  • What’s Next For NATO: A “Reboot or Delete?” Robin Young, host of Here & Now asks Sarwar Kashmeri

  • Sarwar Kashmeri & NATO 2.0 on Fox News

  • To preserve NATO bridge it to the EU

    NATO used to be the world’s most formidable military alliance. But, its original reason for existence, the Soviet Union, disintegrated years ago, and its dreams of being a world cop are withering in the mountains of Afghanistan.

    Meanwhile, the European Union’s Common Security & Defense Policy (CSDP) has deployed twenty-seven successful military/civil missions from Africa to Asia in the last ten years. Through CSDP, Europeans are increasingly taking charge of managing their own foreign and security policy. NATO is no longer the sole and preeminent Euro-Atlantic security actor.

    But watching NATO fade into irrelevance would be a mistake. It is a tried and true platform to harness the resources of North America and Europe. NATO’s future usefulness depends on its willingness to accept its reduced role, to let the EU handle the day-to-day security needs of Europe, and to craft a relationship with CSDP that will allow North America and Europe to act militarily together, should that ever become necessary.

    It is time for NATO 2.0, a new version of NATO, to fit the realities of an ever more integrated Europe in the twenty-first century.

Denmark Rejects NATO Request For F-16s

Denmark has turned down a NATO request to send F-16 fighters to Afghanistan as it believes it has done enough for the international military mission there, the foreign minister said Thursday. “…[Denmark...has a strong desire to scale down its military engagement" in Afghanistan as the Danish defence budget was "under pressure" and the government "is [...]

NATO plans to stay in Afghanistan even after Afghans can handle their own security!

  There’s an article in the August 22, 2010 edition of NewEurope that reminds me of the delusional world that some in NATO inhabit. Right after a statement by President Karzai of Afghanistan in front of the representatives of 70 countries gathered in Kabul on July 20, 2010 that,  …the new government can manage the country on [...]

NATO’s existential crossroads

The United States’ department’s of State and Defense did something unusual this week. They coordinated and orchestrated a tough but constructive message to NATO and the Europeans.        Sec. of State, Clinton spoke at a reception for NATO’s senior team and high level officials, Monday, April 22. It was the kick-off to the one day NATO [...]

NATO Will Protect Georgia From Russia. Ha! Ha!

If I lived in Georgia, I wouldn’t make any bets on being saved by NATO were Russia to flex its muscles again. France today sold Russia an advanced, shallow water, attack helicopter carrier. Sales of 3 more are pending.  Had the Russians had them during their 2008 conflict with Georgia, the sophisticated warships would have allowed [...]

NATO in America?!

   Allied Command Transformation (ACT) in Norfolk, VA is one of those stealth NATO commands. Not because NATO wants it to be a secret, it just never got the publicity that merits its important NATO function. ACT is NATO’s network for keeping up with the times. Lessons learnt from the battlefield are fed to ACT [...]

Swearing In the New SACEUR on April 1 !!

Some NATO levity to start off your week properly… Arnaud de Borchgrave is one of the most distinguished journalists of our time. There is hardly a war he hasn’t covered, or an important world leader he hasn’t met. His network and perspective are unmatched in contemporary journalism. I interviewed Mr. de Borchgrave for my NATO [...]

Summarize NATO’s New Strategic Concept in 17 words

There is a lot of action, many meetings, and a great deal of activity ongoing to arrive at  NATO‘s New Strategic Concept for the next decade. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright chairs a group of Euro-Atlantic experts who will produce the initial draft report for NATO’s Secretary General. When all is said and [...]

Germany’s shot across the NATO bow?

In what appears to be a clear signal about its intentions, Germany has let it be known it is preparing its own strategy for the future of Afghanistan and will annouce this at the London conference January 28. “We will focus our concentration on civilian reconstruction efforts so that Afghanistan can begin to establish security [...]

OP Ed: NATO’s Existential Crossroad

Its come to this—military commanders in Afghanistan must consult an operations checklist before virtually every mission. They must be sure the NATO forces being sent out are properly fitted to the mission. Some NATO member countries don’t want their soldiers in a shooting zone, others won’t let military intelligence be shared between all NATO countries, [...]

What is this alliance all about?????

 Excerpt from President Obama’s Dec 1, 2009 West Point speech on AFPAK strategy: The 30,000 additional troops that I’m announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 — the fastest possible pace — so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers.  They’ll increase our ability to train competent Afghan [...]

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