Daily Archives: February 18, 2017

New York Times

Sharing the NATO Burden New York Times For many years now, successive American administrations have made no secret of their frustration with how little most NATO allies spend on their militaries, leaving the United States with a disproportionately large share of the bill for the joint defense. Straight shooting with NATOCharleston Post Courier Trump confronts NATO's free ridersChicago Tribune Germany: US benefits from stable EU, united NATOMinneapolis Star Tribune Wall Street Journal (subscription) -Wilkes Barre Times-Leader -NATO HQ (press release) all 1,293 news articles »

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Sharing the NATO Burden - New York Times

The move is the latest in a series of multinational training and security cooperation activities along the alliance's eastern front. It comes at a tenuous time in the relationship between the Kremlin and the fledgling administration of President Donald Trump, who just last week voiced unusually strong support for NATO after repeatedly objecting to its relevancy and funding. One hundred twenty troops from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, from Fort Carson, Colorado, arrived Wednesday at the Novo Selo training range in eastern Bulgaria, according to the Bulgarian statement. They're due to be joined by heavy military equipment and armored vehicles by the end of the week.

"This year joint exercises and training will be increased at the Novo Selo training grounds," said the ministry, adding that its goal is to develop and strengthen cooperation on a national and allied level.

Moscow has repeatedly criticized the deployments, calling them provocative and a threat to Russian security. Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that position Thursday at the annual board meeting of the Federal Security Service, a Russian agency that oversees national security and counterterrorism.

"At the NATO summit last July in Warsaw, Russia was declared the main threat to the alliance for the first time since 1989, and NATO officially proclaimed containing Russia its new mission. It is with this aim that NATO continues its expansion," Putin said.

"They are provoking us constantly and are trying to draw us into confrontation," he said.

"We are not in a position right now to collaborate on the military level, but our political leaders will engage and try to find common ground," he said.

"As we search for new common ground, we expect Russia to honor its commitment to the Minsk Agreements and work to deescalate the violence in the Ukraine," Tillerson said.

Russia's annexation of Crimea and ongoing tensions between pro-Russian separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine have caused growing unease among NATO members in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, presenting one of the biggest challenges for the alliance in its nearly 70-year history.

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US troops deploy to Bulgaria as part of NATO operation to support Eastern European allies - CNN

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron | EPA/Andy Rain

Brussels post for former PM would give Britain major role on Continent post-Brexit.

By Tom McTague and Giulia Paravicini

2/18/17, 5:30 AM CET

Updated 2/18/17, 9:48 AM CET

LONDON U.K. cabinet ministers and a foreign statesman are courtingDavid Cameron to raise his hand to bethe next secretary general of NATO, according to people familiar with the situation.

Barely half a year since stepping down as prime minister, Cameron has held what one British official calledconversations about the top job at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels. Hes not ruled it out, though Cameron has on separate occasions refused to make any commitment, these people said.

The post, currently held by the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, wont likely be open for at least another year, and as one person who has talked to him about it noted, Cameron wouldnt want to jump out of the gate early by declaring his intentions.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Chancellor Philip Hammond and Defense Secretary Michael Fallon wantCameron atNATO, a senior official said.

The formal jockeying for the post wouldnt begin before the end of the year, NATO officials say. Candidates are put forward by their nations and chosen by consensus of the 28 members. In reality, the most powerful states, led by the U.S., decide among themselves whom to pick. The top civilian job at the alliance is by custom held by a non-American.

Spokespeople for Cameron and the British government declined to comment.

Someone close to Prime Minister Theresa May saidthe initiative to get Cameron the job has not crossed Maysdesk or that of any of her senior staff.

Last month, Cameron met former NATO secretary general and Danish ex-premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen in London, according to people who know both men. The pair discussed the secretary general job, the future of NATO and the threat posed to the West by radical Islam and Russianaggression in Ukraine and elsewhere, these people said.

Rasmussen declined to comment.

Camerons supporters see in him a strong candidate to lead the alliance at a tumultuous time, asPresident Donald Trump bothdismisses NATO as obsolete and sends surrogates this week to push Europeans to spend more on defense. Itwould also anchorBritain in astrong leadership role on the Continent at time whenthe U.K. is preparing to leave theEU by 2019, following last summers referendum that ended Camerons career in British politics.

The timing of any change atop NATO remains unclear. Stoltenberg, who got a four year term in 2014 with a possible option to extendfor a fifth,may want to stay in post until April 2019 to see in the 70th anniversary of the alliance, which would probably be marked by a special summit in the United States, according to asenior NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Jens Stoltenberg is not even halfway through his term of office, so no one is really thinking about this operationally, this official said, adding that the speculation about Cameron as more about domestic politics than NATO politics.

The NATO job could be given a strongermandate, givingCameron a bigger playing field than the current secretary general.

Cameron would be a formidable candidate.The past two secretary generals were both former prime ministers of Scandinavian nations, and Cameronwould continue thetradition of having a head of government in the role, and in this case from a major NATO power.

His supporters note it would be easier to win Americanblessingfor acandidate who comes from a 2 per-center a member country that hits the NATO target for military expenditure. Only five, among them the U.K. and the U.S., of the 28 currently meet thethreshold of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.

U.K. government aides have mentioned Britains defense minister Michael Fallon as a less high-profile British option. Following the EU referendum last year, Fallon pledged to increase Britains engagement with NATO to compensate for its withdrawal from the EU.

Cameron is committed to a series of new projects that will take him through until at least mid-2018, including a new academic role related to international development set to be announced in the next few weeks, according to an ally who remains close to the former PM.

People are keen in government for him to do it, asenior government aide said. They think hes an incredibly smart guy who would do a very good job representing Britain and would take it very seriously. Theres a broad view that hed be very good. The big question is whether he wants to do it. Im not actually sure he does. Conversations have been had saying why dont you do it, but hes saying I dont want it.

The official said seniorfigures in the British governmentwere looking at whether the job could be given a strongermandate, so Cameron had a bigger playing field than the current secretary general. At the moment hes a bit cold on it, this officialsaid. People are trying to convince him. Its true people are courting him, but hes not there yet.

The official said senior cabinet ministers including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Chancellor Philip Hammond and Fallon all supported Cameron.

Someone familiarwith the former prime ministers discussions about NATO saidnothing has been offered either formally or informally.

Agovernment official said the initial soundings would not have been taken without Number 10s tacit approval. It would be difficult for people who have been speaking to him and encouraging him to be freelancing. I havent had indications that its come directly from Number 10, but you just dont do these conversations if there was a risk that if he said yes it would not all be fine.

Such an initiative is also unlikely to have been undertaken without at least tacit American support, the official added.

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David Cameron 'courted' for top NATO post - POLITICO.eu

The NATO chief says the alliance is ready to reestablish political dialogue with Moscow from a predictable position, which the Russian FM, during their meeting in Germany, quickly deciphered as a position of force for those unfamiliar with diplomatic parlance.

Im glad that NATO is still interested in talking to us... and look forward to discussing some practical things, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the start of the meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

In a brief courtesy exchange that followed, NATOs chief noted that the alliance strongly favors a dialogue with Russia, to which Lavrov replied slightly laughing: I know, I know, from the position of force.

From a predictable and a predictable position,a seemingly confused Stoltenberg insisted, also with a smile, before the meeting between the Russian and the NATO delegations got under way behind closed doors.

Following the talks, Stoltenberg was quick to point out to reporters that the decision to unilaterally suspend cooperation with Russia in April 2014 still stands.

But we have underlined that the suspension of practical cooperation does not mean that we suspend political dialogue,Stoltenberg noted, according to TASS, adding that its useful to have dialogue also on issues where we have different views, like for instance Ukraine.

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The head of NATO said they discussed a wide range of issues, including Libya and Syria.

So there is room for dialogue and for engagement with Russia even though we continue to suspend our practical cooperation, he said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said after the meeting that the parties had discussed the current state and prospects of relations between Russia and NATO, touching on a number of issues on the international and European agenda.

Relations between Russia and NATO ceased after Crimea voted to join Russia following a government coup in Ukraine in 2014.

Moscow has long been accusing NATO of threatening its borders with crawling expansion and a significant air and military buildup. NATO religiously says its a proportional counter measure to so-called Russian aggression.

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'From predictable position of force?' NATO's chief tells Russia's FM there's 'room for dialogue' - RT

On Tuesday, under crisp blue skies at Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minn., two bald eagles eased above the trees. But abruptly, they flew off. It wasnt the persistent wind that scattered them, but intermittent gunfire from a line of Minnesota National Guard and Norwegian Home Guard soldiers.

The troops training on a range were part of an exchange now in its 44th year, the most enduring engagement between a U.S. state and a NATO nation.

Its an experience of a lifetime, said visiting Home Guard soldier Torsten Bjornes, one of about 100 taking part alongside an equal contingent from the Minnesota Guard. Bjornes, who has a North Dakota-born grandmother, was eager for Minnesota troops to traipse to Norway for reciprocal training. Come on over were ready for you! Bjornes said, smiling.

Norway was also ready when the U.S. called on the transatlantic alliance to fight in Afghanistan. Bjornes himself served there after the one and only time that NATOs Article 5 has been invoked. Whether that call for collective defense will ever be triggered again is unknown. But like many members of the 28-nation pact, Norway is wary about Russian revanchism under President Vladimir Putin.

The threat is evolving, according to Maj. Gen. Finn Kristian Hannestad, the Norwegian defense attache in Washington, Maj. Gen. Tor Rune Raabye, commander of the Norwegian Home Guard, and Maj. Gen. Richard C. Nash, the adjutant general of Minnesota who oversees the Minnesota National Guard, all of whom flew to Camp Ripley in a Black Hawk helicopter that like the eagles seemed unfazed by the wind.

Raabye spoke of hybrid warfare, in which all the tools of the state could be used in operations against other nations everything from political information, economic, diplomatic and military pressure.

Increasingly, the military pressure is itself asymmetrical. Raabye referred to the so-called little green men Russian forces in unmarked army uniforms menacing eastern Ukraine, and added that the Baltics, Poland and non-NATO, Western-friendly Finland and Georgia share similar concerns.

Thats due to revisionists in Russia commanded by Putin, who knows how to work the fringes and seams, said Nash, adding: I think hes taken advantage of that asymmetrical warfare; he tries to test NATOs resolve.

Thats what seems to be transpiring, although the news is being blurred by the whirlwind in Washington including allegations regarding Russias role in the U.S. presidential election and reportedly with President Trumps campaign itself.

On Feb. 14 came news of this valentine from Putin: Russia secretly deployed a new cruise missile in violation of an arms-control treaty. A day later, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that a Russian spy ship slipped within 30 miles of the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Conn. While it was within international waters, it reflects Russian provocations in Europe.

The same day, Defense Secretary James Mattis addressed his NATO colleagues. While he did not reprise the presidents uncertain trumpet on the alliance itself Trump once labeled NATO obsolete he warned about U.S. impatience on uneven levels of defense spending by member nations. No longer can the American taxpayer carry a disproportionate share of the defense of western values, Mattis said.

The political uncertainty isnt the only dynamic different from the Cold War era, which however perilous presented certainties on both sides of the divide.

Were having a completely different political environment in Europe today and a different Middle East and a different environment with the media, the financial system, the stock market, everything is playing a completely different role than they did 40 years ago, said Hannestad.

Raabye agreed: For me the Cold War in a certain cynical way was stability, while the age we are in today is instability and everybody is insecure of what is going on.

Added Nash: When we had the Cold War, it was pretty simple. We lined up here, Warsaw [Pact nations] lined up there all was pretty well laid out.

Todays geopolitical complexity doesnt mean that fundamentals of military preparedness arent still essential. The Minnesota National Guard will take part in multiple joint exercises in Europe this year, including in June when a contingent of about 700 personnel and 500 pieces of equipment deploy to Baltic countries during an annual exercise called Saber Strike.

Any kind of training exercising is all part of signaling power, cohesion and that NATO is standing together and that Article 5 is real, Hannestad said.

Making Article 5 real requires civilian and military leadership, but also and especially troops training together, just like this week in Camp Ripley and in Camp Vrnes in Norway. Unlike Camp Ripleys raptors, the proverbial U.S. eagle and its transatlantic allies wont flee under fire, but coordination is essential.

You cant do it from an office with a bunch of generals sitting around, Nash said. You have to put soldiers on the ground to be able to use those skill sets, be able to practice those skill sets, and understand each others culture, language and capabilities and the common defense we all bring to NATO, because thats the power the common defense.

John Rash is a Star Tribune editorial writer and columnist. The Rash Report can be heard at 8:20 a.m. Fridays on WCCO Radio, 830-AM. On Twitter: @rashreport.

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Rash Report: At Camp Ripley training, 'NATO is standing together' - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Story Highlights

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While President Donald Trump has previously questioned the relevance of NATO, 80% of Americans say the alliance should be maintained. This is up from 64% when Gallup last asked Americans about their views on NATO in 1995, and the highest reading since Gallup first asked the question in 1989.

High U.S. support for NATO in Gallup's annual World Affairs poll, conducted Feb. 1-5, comes after Trump questioned the country's commitment to the alliance in mid-January, referring to it as "obsolete." Trump, however, reaffirmed U.S. commitment to NATO when he recently agreed to attend its summit in May. Defense Secretary James Mattis reiterated the country's commitment to NATO this week but said the U.S. could "moderate its commitment" to the alliance if other countries do not increase their defense spending.

When Gallup first asked Americans about their views on NATO in July 1989, 75% thought the alliance should be maintained. The percentage of Americans supporting the alliance dropped to 62% in May and June 1991, months before the Soviet Union's formal collapse. Three years later, support for the alliance increased to 70%, but it dipped back down to 64% in 1995 during's NATO intervention in the Bosnian War.

Fewer Americans have "no opinion" about NATO now than they did in previous times Gallup has asked this question, perhaps boosting this year's percentage of those supporting the alliance.

Democrats More Likely Than Republicans to Support NATO

President Trump questioning NATO's relevance may have affected partisan views of the alliance. Ninety-seven percent of Democrats now support the alliance, 31 percentage points higher than in 1995. Republican support increased by five points to 69%, now making Republicans much less likely than Democrats to want NATO maintained. Nearly three-quarters of independents (74%) support NATO.

The first time Gallup measured Americans' views on NATO, 80% of Republicans thought it should be maintained, compared with 69% of Democrats. The gap between the two parties shrank in each of the next three measures, and dwindled down to two points in 1995.

The 27% of Republicans this year who don't think NATO is necessary is up from 24% in 1995. One percent of Democrats now say NATO is not necessary anymore, down from 19% in 1995.

Bottom Line

The United States' commitment to NATO is at a critical point, as most member nations in Eastern Europe view it as a form of protection after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. While the Trump administration has voiced its concerns about the alliance -- specifically regarding member nations' defense spending -- it's clear that Americans want NATO to be maintained.

Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics.

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Feb. 1-5, 2017, with a random sample of 485 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends.

Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.

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Most Americans Support NATO Alliance - Gallup