3 New Messages
Digest #4711
Messages
Wed May 29, 2013 3:45 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://en.trend.az/regions/cas
Trend News Agency
May 29, 2013
Media: NATO Liaison Officer’s regional office to be relocated to Uzbek capital
D. Azizov
Uzbekistan, Tashkent: In June or July of this year, the NATO Liaison Officer's regional office will move to the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, due to a regional rotation policy laid out in the contract with the government of Uzbekistan, according to a number of online publications referring to NATO representatives.
Uzbekistan has not commented on the relocation of the NATO Liaison Officer's office.
Previously, the office was located in Astana [Kazakhstan], where it coordinated all activities of the alliance in Central Asia.
According to the report, the office will have the status of "diplomatic mission". It will be headed by a citizen of one of the NATO member-countries, who will be assisted by a small staff.
At the initial stage, the NATO office in Tashkent will undertake the coordination of all stakeholders under the planned phased withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as well as the export of arms and army property.
Along with working with the governments of NATO partner countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) with the aim of strengthening long-term bilateral cooperation, the NATO Liaison Officer will also provide support for initiatives of the Alliance for Public Diplomacy as well as provide coordination with international players in the region.
Uzbekistan joined NATO's Partnership for Peace Program in July 1994. Since 1996, Uzbekistan has been cooperating with NATO in the framework of annual individual partnership programs developed for the training of military personnel and peacekeeping battalion.
Uzbekistan participates in the work of the various committees of the NATO in the EAPC format, including the EAPC meetings at the level of ambassadors, political, military and political steering committee and the Committee on Science.
==============================
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==============================
Trend News Agency
May 29, 2013
Media: NATO Liaison Officer’s regional office to be relocated to Uzbek capital
D. Azizov
Uzbekistan, Tashkent: In June or July of this year, the NATO Liaison Officer's regional office will move to the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, due to a regional rotation policy laid out in the contract with the government of Uzbekistan, according to a number of online publications referring to NATO representatives.
Uzbekistan has not commented on the relocation of the NATO Liaison Officer's office.
Previously, the office was located in Astana [Kazakhstan], where it coordinated all activities of the alliance in Central Asia.
According to the report, the office will have the status of "diplomatic mission". It will be headed by a citizen of one of the NATO member-countries, who will be assisted by a small staff.
At the initial stage, the NATO office in Tashkent will undertake the coordination of all stakeholders under the planned phased withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as well as the export of arms and army property.
Along with working with the governments of NATO partner countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) with the aim of strengthening long-term bilateral cooperation, the NATO Liaison Officer will also provide support for initiatives of the Alliance for Public Diplomacy as well as provide coordination with international players in the region.
Uzbekistan joined NATO's Partnership for Peace Program in July 1994. Since 1996, Uzbekistan has been cooperating with NATO in the framework of annual individual partnership programs developed for the training of military personnel and peacekeeping battalion.
Uzbekistan participates in the work of the various committees of the NATO in the EAPC format, including the EAPC meetings at the level of ambassadors, political, military and political steering committee and the Committee on Science.
==============================
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==============================
Thu May 30, 2013 6:26 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
May 30, 2013
NATO strengthens military-to-military cooperation with Pakistan
On 28 and 29 May 2013, General Knud Bartels, Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, made an official visit to Pakistan at the invitation of General Kayani, the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff.
The aim of the visit was to build on the military-to-military relationship between NATO and Pakistan both in recognition of Pakistan’s important role in the region and as enabler to NATO’s Mission in Afghanistan. “It is important for NATO to understand Pakistan’s perspective and views of the dynamics in the region,” General Bartels said. “Pakistan is clearly an important country in the region within which the future stability of Afghanistan will be a key factor. I believe it makes good sense for NATO to strengthen military-to-military cooperation with Pakistan,” he added. To this end, General Bartels held talks with General Kayani, received briefings from the Pakistani Army Principal Staff Officers and had a meeting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Wynne.
...
The NATO and Pakistan delegations exchanged views on countering the IED threat to troops and civilian populations, a threat which both parties are facing. The delegations agreed to explore opportunities to sharing knowledge and experience on countering the IED threat.
The importance of close cooperation on border security between Pakistan and Afghanistan and NATO's current role in facilitating this through ISAF was also discussed.
During the visit, General Bartels paid tribute to the soldiers of the Pakistani Military who lost their lives in service for their country with a formal Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Shuhada Monument. He also delivered a lecture to the Students and Staff of the National Defence University to improve the general understanding of NATO, its roles, operations and future challenges. “I found the audience keen to understand more about NATO, its operations and outreach," General Bartels said afterwards.
The trip concluded by an operational visit to the Swat valley in northern Pakistan where the General was briefed...Also in the area the General visited a De-radicalization center where he praised the staff for their remarkable work in providing young people hope, skills and the desire to contribute constructively in society. "I have been grateful for the hospitality I have experienced and I will continue to support efforts to enhance military-to-military cooperation between NATO and Pakistan,” Gen. Bartels concluded.
==============================
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.co
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==============================
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
May 30, 2013
NATO strengthens military-to-military cooperation with Pakistan
On 28 and 29 May 2013, General Knud Bartels, Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, made an official visit to Pakistan at the invitation of General Kayani, the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff.
The aim of the visit was to build on the military-to-military relationship between NATO and Pakistan both in recognition of Pakistan’s important role in the region and as enabler to NATO’s Mission in Afghanistan. “It is important for NATO to understand Pakistan’s perspective and views of the dynamics in the region,” General Bartels said. “Pakistan is clearly an important country in the region within which the future stability of Afghanistan will be a key factor. I believe it makes good sense for NATO to strengthen military-to-military cooperation with Pakistan,” he added. To this end, General Bartels held talks with General Kayani, received briefings from the Pakistani Army Principal Staff Officers and had a meeting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Wynne.
...
The NATO and Pakistan delegations exchanged views on countering the IED threat to troops and civilian populations, a threat which both parties are facing. The delegations agreed to explore opportunities to sharing knowledge and experience on countering the IED threat.
The importance of close cooperation on border security between Pakistan and Afghanistan and NATO's current role in facilitating this through ISAF was also discussed.
During the visit, General Bartels paid tribute to the soldiers of the Pakistani Military who lost their lives in service for their country with a formal Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Shuhada Monument. He also delivered a lecture to the Students and Staff of the National Defence University to improve the general understanding of NATO, its roles, operations and future challenges. “I found the audience keen to understand more about NATO, its operations and outreach," General Bartels said afterwards.
The trip concluded by an operational visit to the Swat valley in northern Pakistan where the General was briefed...Also in the area the General visited a De-radicalization center where he praised the staff for their remarkable work in providing young people hope, skills and the desire to contribute constructively in society. "I have been grateful for the hospitality I have experienced and I will continue to support efforts to enhance military-to-military cooperation between NATO and Pakistan,” Gen. Bartels concluded.
==============================
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.co
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups
==============================
Thu May 30, 2013 11:05 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.stripes.com/
Stars and Stripes
May 29, 2013
Odierno: Don't rule out ground wars when cutting Army forces
By Chris Carroll
WASHINGTON: Defense budget chaos and bad assumptions about the future of American warfare could result in an Army that’s too small to do its job, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said Wednesday.
The Army is reducing toward an active-duty end strength of 490,000 troops by 2017, Odierno told an audience at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank. If Congress doesn’t come up with a solution to sequestration – automatic budget cuts that will reduce planned defense spending by $500 billion over a decade – the Army must shrink even further, he said.
As the United States implements a new defense strategy that de-emphasizes land wars in the Middle East and increasingly casts an eye on the watery expanses of the Pacific, Odierno warned against the assumption that United States has sworn off land wars for good.
“The thing I worry about is that in everybody’s declaration that there’s going to be no more ground wars, we need no more ground forces, that we’re going to make the Army too small,” he said. “I see nothing on the horizon yet that tells me that we don’t need ground forces.”
Keeping a healthy-size Army is doubly important now that some U.S. allies are shrinking their ground forces or considering it, he said. Some of the support the United States has relied on in recent conflicts may not be there if needed in the near future, he said.
“The concerning thing for me is they are significantly reducing their capabilities while we are reducing ours,” Odierno said.
South Korea may reduce its military because of demographic pressures, France and Italy may be forced to do so by budgetary concerns, and Britain is cutting its forces now, he told the audience.
“In a lot of ways, they’re depending on us, especially our ground capability, into the future,” he said.
Although U.S. cutbacks in Europe have resulted in the withdrawal of about 12,000 soldiers, he said, the current Army presence there – with two combat brigades plus logistics and support elements – is “about the right amount.”
Odierno said he joins those who hope for an end to land wars – but not those who suspect the United States no longer needs a large Army capable of fighting them.
“In order for us to deter our adversaries and have the right capacity to protect this nation, you’ve got to have the right number of ground forces,” he declared.
Stars and Stripes
May 29, 2013
Odierno: Don't rule out ground wars when cutting Army forces
By Chris Carroll
WASHINGTON: Defense budget chaos and bad assumptions about the future of American warfare could result in an Army that’s too small to do its job, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said Wednesday.
The Army is reducing toward an active-duty end strength of 490,000 troops by 2017, Odierno told an audience at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank. If Congress doesn’t come up with a solution to sequestration – automatic budget cuts that will reduce planned defense spending by $500 billion over a decade – the Army must shrink even further, he said.
As the United States implements a new defense strategy that de-emphasizes land wars in the Middle East and increasingly casts an eye on the watery expanses of the Pacific, Odierno warned against the assumption that United States has sworn off land wars for good.
“The thing I worry about is that in everybody’s declaration that there’s going to be no more ground wars, we need no more ground forces, that we’re going to make the Army too small,” he said. “I see nothing on the horizon yet that tells me that we don’t need ground forces.”
Keeping a healthy-size Army is doubly important now that some U.S. allies are shrinking their ground forces or considering it, he said. Some of the support the United States has relied on in recent conflicts may not be there if needed in the near future, he said.
“The concerning thing for me is they are significantly reducing their capabilities while we are reducing ours,” Odierno said.
South Korea may reduce its military because of demographic pressures, France and Italy may be forced to do so by budgetary concerns, and Britain is cutting its forces now, he told the audience.
“In a lot of ways, they’re depending on us, especially our ground capability, into the future,” he said.
Although U.S. cutbacks in Europe have resulted in the withdrawal of about 12,000 soldiers, he said, the current Army presence there – with two combat brigades plus logistics and support elements – is “about the right amount.”
Odierno said he joins those who hope for an end to land wars – but not those who suspect the United States no longer needs a large Army capable of fighting them.
“In order for us to deter our adversaries and have the right capacity to protect this nation, you’ve got to have the right number of ground forces,” he declared.
