The Streit Council

Allies Dressed in Green
October 27, 2006
HEIDELBERG, Germany: Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Western allies have been asking: What will replace the threat of communism as the cement that holds together the Atlantic alliance? Some have argued terrorism, but I don't think so. I think my German friends have the best idea: The issue that will and should unite the West is energy and all its challenges.
After all, nothing is a bigger threat today to the Western way of life and quality of life than the combination of climate change, pollution, species loss, and Islamist radicalism and petro-authoritarianism - all fueled by our energy addictions. And no solution is possible to these problems without concerted government actions to reduce emissions, to inspire green innovation and to shift from oil to renewable power. Read More

The Political-Military Bureau's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Security, Michael W. Coulter, spoke today to the 132 members of the third class of stability police trainers to graduate from the Center of Excellence for Stability Policy Units (COESPU) in Vicenza, Italy. COESPU, a joint effort of the Governments of the United States and Italy, was established in the fall of 2005 as an international training center designed to fill the "security gap" between military forces and civilian police in peacekeeping operations...

COESPU is one of three primary components under the President's five-year Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) that is part of a broader effort agreed to by the G-8 at the 2004 Sea Island Summit to address major gaps in international peace operations...

In addition to working with Italy to establish COESPU and train 3,000 stability police trainers by 2010, GPOI's goals include training and equipping over 75,000 peacekeepers worldwide by 2010 and working with G-8 and other partners to develop a transportation and logistics support arrangement designed to address the current gap in deployment and logistics support available to peace operations. Read More

DON'T DIMINISH NATO'S EFFECTIVENESS
By Michele Alliot-Marie
October 20, 2006
The Washington Times

Terrorism is spreading in a troubling manner. The risk of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has increased, while regional crises undermining international security and stability are multiplying…the NATO summit in Riga this November [must bolster] the alliance's solidity in a world that has become uncertain, if not dangerous….

NATO's Rapid Reaction Force is a symbol of the alliance's adaptation to new security imperatives and demonstrates its ability to move rapidly to prevent a crisis. Its complete operationality must be endorsed…

Today, however, some are questioning the appropriateness of extending NATO's missions in two directions: geographical the development of partnerships with new countries; and functional; conducting operations in the civilian sphere, notably in the reconstruction of countries that have emerged from crises.

The development of a global partnership could in fact not only dilute the natural solidarity between Europeans and North Americans in a vague ensemble, but also, and especially, send a bad political message: that of a campaign launched by the West against those who don't share their ideas. What a pretext we would offer to those who promote the idea of a clash of civilizations. It would be perfectly incompatible with our vision of a multipolar world based on dialogue and respect for others.

Transforming NATO into an organization whose mission is to rebuild both democracy and a nation's economy corresponds neither to its legitimate mandate nor to its means. We must be very careful not to dilute the alliance through poorly defined missions in which it would lose both its soul and its effectiveness. Read More

A NATO for the World Economy: An Argument for a Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Zone
By Gabor Steingart
October 20, 2006
Der Spiegel online

Asian businessmen are probably the friendliest conquerors the world has ever seen. But despite the politeness and the smiles, Western governments must act quickly to combat the rise of China and Asia. The West should discuss an ambitious project: a European-American free-trade zone.
For 50 years it was a highly controversial institution. Today, though, every schoolchild knows that without the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, free Europe wouldn't exist. If the Western alliance hadn't ostentatiously demonstrated its power -- with its fighter jets, tank divisions and continually updated weaponry -- Soviet communism would have expanded westward instead of imploding as it did. By the end of the Cold War, even NATO's fiercest critics had learned their lesson: The dove of peace could only survive because the hawk was ready on his perch.
The world war for wealth calls for a different, but every bit as contradictory, solution. Alas, once again many lack the imagination to see that the aims of our economic opponents are far from peaceful. Yet what sets this situation apart from what we usually call a conflict -- what paralyzes the West -- is how quietly the enemy is advancing. Read More

NATO's Renaissance
October 11, 2006
Last week, NATO assumed command over some 32,000 peacekeeping troops from 37 countries in Afghanistan, including 12,000 U.S. forces in the eastern part of
the country. The move confirmed that the half-century-old organization has
entered a new era -- and is now facing unprecedented challenges. As Ivo Daalder
and James Goldgeier point out in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, NATO is
going global, expanding both its geographical reach and the scope of its
operations. But, warned Strobe Talbott four years ago, to succeed, the
U.S.-dominated organization will have to remain cohesive despite growing rifts
between the United States and its other members. Daalder and Goldgeier Strobe Talbott

How to keep NATO relevant
Charles A. Kupchan International Herald Tribune
October 5, 2006
As next month's NATO summit meeting in Latvia draws near, debate is heating up over how to ready the alliance to meet the challenges of the future. Many of the ideas on the table are impressively bold, envisaging a NATO that not only continues to take in Europe's new democracies, but also extends its membership and missions well beyond the European heartland.
Such expansive proposals might be alluring in their ambition, but they are more likely to lead to NATO's demise than its renewal. With the alliance already overextended in Afghanistan, NATO's current agenda should focus on consolidation, not on pursuing a global agenda that promises only to saddle the organization with an unsustainable range of commitments.
Many prominent analysts think NATO should become the go-to organization for the world's most pressing security challenges. By adding countries as far flung as Japan and Australia to its ranks, some say, NATO would enhance its legitimacy and fortify itself with the troop contributions of its many new members. But such visions are woefully divorced from today's strategic realities. To be sure, NATO could use a fresh supply of able soldiers, but it does not need to extend its reach to the Pacific to get them. Read More

Merkel for EU Agreement with US
October 2, 2006
With the Doha Round of trade talks threatening to come to naught, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come up with a plan B: a free-trade zone with the US. Such a zone would encompass 60 percent of the global economy.
The World Trade Organization has set a difficult task for itself. Since the Doha Round of negotiations began in November 2001, the WTO has been trying to come up with a tariffs and trade agreement that all members can agree on. Success depends on satisfying the 149 countries participating -- which is far from an easy task. The talks collapsed most recently in late July of this year.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, though, has a backup plan. Should the Doha talks ultimately prove untenable, she is open to the idea of forming a trans-Atlantic free-trade zone between the European Union and the United States.Read More

Nato gets more US troops
October 2, 2006
Kabul - Nato will soon assume direct control over most military operations in Afghanistan, a move that will place 12 000 more US troops under its authority, a spokesperson for the alliance said.
The expansion will consolidate military command under top Nato leader British Lieutenant General David Richards and phase out the role of US Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, whose troops will be transferred to Nato, alliance spokesperson Mark Laity said on Sunday in Kabul.Read More