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A LIVING HISTORY OF THE ATLANTIC COMMUNITY See below for April
2008 update of chronology and links FYI: NEW!! “Can NATO Survive
Afghanistan?,” Swords and
Plowshares, August 2008. This collection of articles by Stanley R. Sloan,
Ryan C. Hendrickson, Paul F. Diehl and Edward A. Kolodziej, edited by Matthew
A. Rosenstein, examines the significant challenges facing NATO as it conducts
its first mission outside the Euro-Atlantic arena in its nearly sixty-year
history. NEW!! “Faith,
Freedom and Fundamentalism: Challenges
to Transatlantic Relations and Beyond,” Keynote address by Stanley
R. Sloan to the “International Affairs Conference on Religion and
International Politics: Now and
Into the Future,” Star Island, Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire, July 20,
2008. NEW!! “A Grand Plan for NATO Will Have to Wait,” a view from the Atlantic Community Initiative, March 31, 2008. NEW!! “Birthing Athena, The Uncertain Future of European Security and Defense Policy,” Christopher S. Chivvis, Focus stratégique n. 5, Security Studies Center, Institut Français des Relations Internationales, March 2008. NEW!! NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer, “Beyond
the Bucharest Summit,” Presentation to the German Marshall Fund
Brussels Forum, March 15, 2008. NEW!! Stephen J. Flanagan, Leo G. Michel, James J. Przystup and John A. Cope, “Adapting Alliances and Partnerships,” Chapter 7 in Strategic Challenges, America’s Global Security Agenda, National Defense University Press and Potomac Books, Inc., 2008. NEW!! NATO College Research
Directorate, Dr. Karl-Heinz Kamp, Director, “NATO before Bucharest: The Alliance at the Crossroads,”
Summary Conference Findings, January 2008. NEW!! NATO-Russia Compendium of Financial and Economic Data Relating to
Defence, December 2007. NEW!! The Berlin-based Atlantic
Initiative has opened a web page intended as a forum for debate and discussion
of global security issues and transatlantic relations. The Atlantic Community
Initiative welcomes its new “partner” in promoting discussion of
issues important to the Atlantic Community. The Atlantic Community’s
website can be found at the following address: www.atlantic-community.org . Still available: NATO,
the European Union and the Atlantic Community: The Transatlantic Bargain Challenged. Praise for the first edition: Highly
readable, well-researched and analytically cogent. . .An ideal
textbook."
-- The International Spectator A concise
and insightful account of NATO from the very beginning to the end of the Cold
War and beyond . . . and a clear stand on the debate over NATO's
future." --
International Affairs Stanley
Sloan's well-written account is a welcome corrective to the gap in NATO historiography.
His book deserves a wide readership from the general public as well as NATO
scholars."
-- Lawrence S. Kaplan, emeritus director, Lyman L. Lemnitzer Center
for NATO and European Union Studies Rowman and Littlefield, August 2005 (2nd
edition) (Please click for ordering information.)
Living History: 1993-2008 (FOR 1941-1992, GO HERE) 2008 April 3 – The NATO heads of state and government, meeting in Bucharest, Romania, supported US plans to deploy components of a limited antiballistic missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic and agreed to study how the system could be coordinated with NATO’s overall missile defense plans. The NATO leaders issued invitations to Albania and Croatia to join the alliance, but the government of Greece blocked an invitation to the Republic of Macedonia (also known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or “FYROM”), arguing that the country’s name could be seen as asserting sovereignty over the neighboring Greek region named Macedonia. Also, in spite of strong support from US President Bush, the allies were unwilling to put the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia on the path toward NATO membership by allowing them to negotiate Membership Action Plans with the alliance. The allies nonetheless proclaimed that the two countries would, one day, become NATO members (in spite of Russia’s strong objections). In the context of the summit, several allies announced or confirmed their intentions to send additional troops to join the under-manned NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The summit also confirmed the importance of contributions by other international actors, particularly the United Nations and the European Union, to the ultimate goal of a stable, modernizing Afghanistan that serves neither as a launching pad for international terrorism nor a leading source of narcotics. Go here for a copy of the Bucharest Summit Declaration. March 13 – The Canadian
Parliament voted to extend is mission in Afghanistan to 2011 on the condition
that other NATO countries send additional troops and equipment to fight the
Taliban in the south. March 11 – Serbia and Russia
demanded that the UN administration in Kosovo halt the transfer of authority
for the former Serbian province to the European Union, calling it illegal and
promising never to recognize Kosovo’s independence. March 5 – A NATO official
said Uzbekistan had allowed some NATO members, including the United States,
to use an air base on its territory. March 4 – Ukraine’s
natural gas company warned that if Russia makes additional cuts to its gas
supplies it could be forced to divert shipments intended for Western Europe. February 27 – The Euro
continued its climb above the US dollar, finishing the day above $1.50 for
the first time. February 22 – Following
violent protests in Belgrade that culminated in an attack on the US Embassy,
the Russian Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said that “If the EU
works out a single position or if NATO steps beyond its mandate in
Kosovo… then we will begin operating under the assumption that in order
to be respected, one needs to use force.” February 16 – Kosovo
declared independence from Serbia, a moved immediately condemned by Serbia
and Russia. The European Union
gave final approval for deployment of a 1,800-member policing and
administrative mission in Kosovo. February 7 – At a meeting of
NATO defense ministers in Lithuania, France agreed to help Canada deal with
Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan. February 5 – Fist fights and
protests in Ukraine’s parliament over the government’s intent to
pursue NATO membership caused the president to cancel his state of the union
address. January 28 -- The EU launched its
long-awaited peacekeeping force for Chad and the Central African Republic to
help protect hundreds of thousands of refugees from strife-torn Darfur. January 25 – Russia’s
lower house of parliament annulled an agreement with Ukraine on using
Soviet-built military radars in response to Kiev’s bid to join NATO. January 10 – Russia’s
President Putin appointed Dmitry Rogozin, a prominent nationalist politician
who is known for his outspoken of NATO and the West, as ambassador to NATO. 2007 December 20 -- Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic
joined Europe's passport-free Schengen zone. They all joined the EU on May 1,
2004. December 13 -- EU leaders signed
the Treaty
of Lisbon to reform the EU's institutions and to strengthen its
leadership and international role.
The treaty, prepared after the failed attempt to gain approval for an
EU constitution, still must be ratified by member governments and then would
go into force on January 1, 2009. December 7 – The NATO
Foreign Ministers pledged to keep their KFOR troops in Kosovo as the former
Serbian province moves toward independence and as needed thereafter. They agreed that NATO’s main mission
in Afghanistan was to help the Afghan National Security Forces get to the
point where they could take over responsibility for the nation’s
security. They said that their
officials would prepare “for endorsement by our Heads of State and
Government at their meeting in Bucharest, a forward-looking, comprehensive
strategic political-military plan to achieve NATO's aims in
Afghanistan.” NAC Communiqué. November 29 -- Osama bin Laden
released a new tape calling on Europeans to stop helping the United States in
the war in Afghanistan. November 20 – President
Putin said that Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the CFE
treaty was a necessary response to NATO “muscle-flexing” near its
border. November 14 – Italian Admiral
Giampaolo Di Paola was selected as the new chairman of NATO’s military
committee. September 22 – Serbian Prime
Minister Vojislav Kostunica warned the United States, NATO and Kosovo
Albanians they would be responsible for devastating consequences if Kosovo
declared its independence. August 27 – French President
Sarkozy called for a clear timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops
from Iraq and outlined an assertive role for France in other world hotspots.
Sarkozy urged EU nations to accept a greater share of defense spending to
cope with escalating global threats. July 14 – Russia suspended
participation in the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe. Russia has approved the 1990 treaty as
amended in 1999 but the United States and other NATO countries have refused
to do so as long as Moscow does not withdraw troops from the former Soviet
republics of Moldova and Georgia. July 2 – President Putin,
visiting President Bush in Maine, US, proposed an alternative missile defense
system be developed jointly under the auspices of the NATO-Russia Council. June 26 – The Labour
Party’s Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair as British Prime Minister. June 13 – A senior US
diplomat said NATO had intercepted Iranian weapons shipments to insurgents in
Afghanistan. A week earlier, US
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had said the US believed that weapons were
coming into Afghanistan from Iran but agreed with Afghan President Hamid
Karzai that it cannot be proven that Iran’s government was behind the
transfers. June 3 -- President Vladimir Putin
warned that Moscow could take "retaliatory steps" if Washington
proceeded with plans to build a missile defense system for Europe, including
possibly aiming nuclear weapons at European targets. May 10 – Talks between top
NATO and Russian military leaders failed to narrow differences over missile
defense and arms control in Europe. May 8 – NATO Secretary
General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf agreed
to strengthen security along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. May 6 – Nicolas Sarkozy was
elected president of France, promising to renew good ties with the United
States. May 3 – Russia condemned
both the European Union and NATO for supporting Estonia in its dispute with
Moscow over moving a Soviet war memorial out of central Tallinn. April 30 – The Presidents of
Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to share intelligence on extremist groups to
deny sanctuary, training and financing to terrorists in both countries. April 19 – At a special
meeting in Brussels, NATO member countries agreed that the territory of all
member countries must be protected from missile threats in the interest of
“indivisible security.” February 4 – US Army General
Dan K. McNeill assumed command of the NATO-led International Security
Assistance Force in Afghanistan. 2006 December 21 – U.S. Marine General James Jones, who served
as NATO Supreme Allied Commander from 2003 until earlier this month, told
journalists in Washington that the alliance's troops are still needed in Afghanistan,
but establishing the country as a self-sustaining democracy can be only be
done by strengthening its civil institutions and eradicating the huge trade
in opium. December 17 – The French
government announced that it was withdrawing its 200-strong special forces
contingent from Afghanistan. These troops constituted France’s
contribution to the US anti-terror operation Enduring Freedom. France will
continue to deploy air units and its 1100 troop contingent in support of the
NATO-led ISAF force, and will train Afghan special forces with the goal of
establishing greater self-sufficiency for the government in Kabul. December 14 – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia joined the Partnership for Peace. December 7 -- US Army Gen. John Craddock became the 15th Supreme Allied Commander Europe during a ceremony held at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Casteau, Belgium, December 7, 2006. Craddock took over command from US Marine Gen. James L. Jones. November 28/29 – NATO leaders, meeting at a scheduled summit session in Riga, Latvia, discussed the critical importance of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan. Discussions failed to produce substantial new troop commitments for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force there, but several allies revised limitations that they had placed on the use of their forces in Afghanistan to permit them to assist other NATO troops in a crisis situation. NATO’s Response Force was declared fully operational even though questions remained whether troops would be made available when needed and how operations of the force would be financed. Riga Summit Declaration. November
28 – NATO signed a contract with a consortium led by the US Science
Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to develop a theater missile
defense system that, by 2010, is supposed to be able to protect troops in specific areas against short and medium
range ballistic missiles by intercepting them. November 7 – In mid-term elections in the United States, the Democratic Party took control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate from the Republican Party. The vote was widely seen as a defeat for President George W. Bush, growing opposition to the President’s handling of the war in Iraq, as well as disapproval of Republican management of the Congress. October 16 – The Intelligence Fusion Center was opened in Molesworth, UK. The center’s mission is to facilitate comprehensive sharing of intelligence among NATO members and partners, particularly regarding on-going NATO operations. – Israel finalized its Individual Cooperation Program with NATO in the
context of the enhanced Mediterranean dialogue. It was also announced that
Israel had settled on the modalities of its contribution to NATO’s
maritime Operation Active Endeavor. October 5 – The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan
enlarged its area of operations to include the East of Afghanistan, expanding
its UN-mandated stabilization mission to include the entire country. September 21 – At the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers
in New York, the NATO Secretary General announced the decision to offer
Intensified Dialogue to Georgia. The dialogue is a step in the direction of
possible membership in NATO. September 12 – 13 NATO allies released a Letter of Intent to launch contract negotiations
with Boeing for the purchase of C-17 transport aircraft to provide a
strategic lift capability for the alliance. July 31 – The NATO-led International Security
Assistance Force assumed command of the Southern region of Afghanistan from
US-led Coalition forces, further extending ISAF’s mission since NATO
took command of ISAF in Kabul in August 2003. July 14 – NATO approved the nomination of
General Bantz J. Craddock, US Army, to succeed General James L. Jones, as
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. July 1 -- Finland took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. June
21 – EU Commission
President José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Council and
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and US President George W. Bush
met at the EU-US Summit in Vienna to discuss foreign policy co-operation,
energy security, economy and trade, and other global challenges. June 8 – NATO defense ministers met in Brussels focusing in particular on how to improve NATO’s ability to meet the requirements of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Final Communiqué. June 1 – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that the United States would join direct talks with Iran if the Iranian government would first suspend its uranium enrichment program.
May 29 – Israel announced it would fully participate in a NATO naval exercise for the first time, increasing the substance of its cooperation with the Western alliance.
- US Senator John Warner suggested that NATO be used to mount a deterrence strategy against Iran should negotiations fail to dissuade the Iranians from developing nuclear weapons capabilities.
May 24 – The African Union accepted NATO’s offer to extend its assistance in Sudan’s Darfur region.
May 17 – Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected a possible European offer for incentives, including a light-water nuclear reactor, in return for allaying fears about his country’s nuclear program.
May 15 – A top official said the EU would support an Iranian nuclear program that cannot be put to military use and will boost political and economic cooperation if Tehran accepts international oversight.
May 7 – Vice President Cheney endorsed the NATO membership aspirations of Croatia, Albania and Macedonia.
May
4 – In Vilnius, Lithuania, Vice
President Cheney said that opponents of reform in Russia are “seeking
to reverse the gains of the last decade....” He also rebuked Moscow for
using oil and gas as “tools of intimidation [and] blackmail.” The
Vice President was participating in a summit of Baltic and Black Sea state
leaders. - The UK assumed command of NATO’s ISAF in Afghanistan. May 3 – The EU suspended aid and trade talks with Serbia after Belgrade failed to deliver fugitive General Ratko Mladic to the Un war crimes tribunal. April 28 – Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged Taliban militants to end the violence raging across the country the join forces with the new government to help with Afghanistan’s reconstruction. April 26- EU Parliament investigators said the CIA had conducted more than 1,000 undeclared flights over European territory since 2001. April 10 – EU foreign ministers endorsed a freeze of aid to the Palestinian government but said they would seek alternative ways of providing money for humanitarian projects. April 9 – A gathering of Imams and Islamic leaders in Austria urged European governments to launch affirmative action-style programs and streamline citizenship paths to help ease integration for the continent’s 33 million Muslims. April 7 – The EU said it had cut off direct aid payments to the Hamas-led Palestinian government because of its refusal to renounce violence and recognize Israel. March 30 – The EU, Russia, the UN and the United States warned the Hamas-led Palestinian government that it must recognize Israel and seek peace talks if it wants to be guaranteed continued aid. March 14 – It was announced that NATO peacekeepers in northern Afghanistan had found the biggest weapons cache in recent years including 80 tons of TNT and 25,000 landmines. The weapons were stored underground in old Soviet bunkers. February 10 – In Sicily, NATO defense ministers meeting to discuss the process of NATO transformation, also sought to calm Islamic anger over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. They additionally met with representatives of Mediterranean Dialogue countries including Israel, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan and Mauritania. February 7 – NATO peacekeepers exchanged fire with protesters who attacked their base in Afghanistan in the second straight day of violent demonstrations over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. One demonstrator was killed and dozens wounded. February 2 – Armed militants, angered by a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad published in European media, surrounded EU offices in Gaza and threatened to kidnap foreigners as outrage over the caricatures spread across the Islamic world. January 31 – NATO ended its earthquake relief operation in Pakistan, the alliance’s first big disaster mission involving deployment of ground troops outside a member state. January 30 – EU foreign ministers called on Hamas to recognize the state of Israel, renounce violence, and disarm. January 26 – The British government said it would send at least another 4,000 troops to Afghanistan in coming months in support of NATO’s expanding mission there. 2005 December 22 – The government of The Netherlands said it planned to send up to 1,400 additional troops to Afghanistan for expanded NATO peace operations. December 15 – NATO SACEUR General James L. Jones said drugs are a greater security threat in Afghanistan than a Taliban resurgence, despite a rise in attacks attributed to remnants of the hard-line Islamic regime and their al-Qaeda allies. December 9 – The government of Afghanistan welcomed NATO’s decision to expand its peacekeeping mission, saying it would boost increase security, while the Taliban said more alliance troops would only increase opportunities for guerrillas to attack them. December 8 – NATO foreign ministers approved plans to send up to 6,000 troops into southern Afghanistan, a major expansion of the alliance’s peacekeeping mission into some of the most dangerous parts of the country. [Ministerial communiqué] November 23 – A NATO official said Uzbekistan had told NATO allies they can no longer use its territory or air space to support peacekeeping missions in neighboring Afghanistan. - Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili predicted his country would become a member of NATO by 2009. November 21 – EU defense ministers adopted a plan to open up their $35 billion arms industry to increased cross-border competition within the 25-nation bloc in a move intended to reduce costs of weapons production and acquisition for member states. - EU foreign ministers authorized the opening of cooperation agreement negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina. November 7 – EU foreign ministers agreed to launch a three-year police training mission to help the Palestinian Authority build up a “sustainable and effective” police force. November 3 – European Union officials said they would investigate a report that the CIA had set up secret jails in Eastern Europe to interrogate top al-Qaeda suspects. October 24 – NATO pledged to help Ukraine push through military reforms seen as essential to prepare the country for membership in the alliance. October 21 – The EU Commission agreed to open talks with Bosnia-Herzegovina on a cooperation agreement that could lead to full EU membership. October 12 – The EU agreed to require telecommunications companies to keep records of phone and e-mail traffic for up to one year as part of its anti-terrorist campaign. September 27 – NATO officials opened a training academy in Iraq for the Iraqi military. September 16 – The government of Lithuania denied Moscow’s requests to hand over a Russian pilot whose fighter jet crashed in the NATO member’s territory after violating its airspace, saying it must first complete an investigation of the incident. September 9 – NATO nations agreed to use alliance ships and aircraft to rush European aid to the US gulf Coast in response to an American request for help in coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. September 1 – As EU foreign ministers opened a meeting in Wales to assess Turkey’s progress toward meeting the requirements for membership, the government of Turkey insisted that it had fulfilled the necessary conditions. August 16 – Two helicopters carrying NATO-led forces to prepare for September elections crashed in the desert of western Afghanistan, killing at least 17 Spanish troops. August 6 – Iran rejected the most recent European proposal for ending the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program, saying it was “unacceptable” because it did not give the country the right to enrich uranium. July 7 – In Pale, Bosnia-Herzegovina, NATO troops arrested Aleksandar Karadzic, the son of top Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic. Karadzic is wanted for alleged genocide including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. June 18 – A summit of EU leaders collapsed without agreement on the future of the EU following the failed constitutional referenda in France and The Netherlands. June 1 – Dutch voters, worried about the cost of social benefits and immigration, overwhelmingly rejected the EU constitution. May 31 – NATO troops took command of security and reconstruction efforts in western Afghanistan from US forces as a further step toward NATO’s ISAF taking on increasing responsibilities in Afghanistan. May 29 – French voters rejected the EU’s first constitution, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the charter. May 24 – NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said NATO would offer airlift, training and other logistics support to African Union forces seeking to end the civil war in Sudan’s Darfur region. April 13 – The European Parliament approved the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the EU in 2007 conditioned on the two countries carrying out required reforms. April 1 – Australia signed an agreement with NATO to cooperate in the fight against international terrorism, weapons proliferation and other global military threats. March 19 – Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters demonstrated across Europe to mark the second anniversary of the US-led invasison of Iraq. February 22 – NATO leaders meeting in Brussels announced a 12-year program to destroy Soviet-era weapons in Ukraine. February 21 – In Brussels, President Bush appealed to European countries to move beyond animosities over Iraq and join forces in encouraging democratic reforms across the Middle East. February 13 – Iran rejected a European demand to stop building a heavy water nuclear reactor in return for a light-water reactor. January 31 – EU foreign ministers agreed to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Cuban government while pledging to increase contacts with critics of President Fidel Castro. 2004 December 16 - European Union leaders, meeting in Brussels, invited Turkey to begin membership negotiations with the EU in 2005. December 9 - NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels declared that "Contributing to peace, stability and democracy in Afghanistan, through the UN-mandated, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, remains the Alliance's key priority." The ministers agreed to continue the process of expanding NATO's role in Afghanistan by deploying Provincial Reconstruction Teams to the country's western provinces, but no allies pledged additional troops for the effort. The ministers also agreed to increase manning of the NATO training program in Baghdad from 60 to 300 officers. Six allies - France, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Spain and Luxembourg - did not oppose the decision but said they would not send officers to Baghdad in support of the program. December 2 - A ceremony in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the end of NATO's Stabilization Force (SFOR) mission and the beginning of the European Union's follow-on EUFOR. The EUFOR mission is organized under the "Berlin Plus" arrangements for NATO to support European Union missions and represents the first major operation test of those arrangements. NATO will retain a small presence in Bosnia/Herzegovina largely for the purposes of supporting Bosnian defense reform, pursuing war criminals, and participating in counter terrorist operations. NATO remains in charge of the 17,000 troop presence in Kosovo. November 28 – Manuel Durau Barroso, former Portuguese Prime Minister, took over as head of the EU Commission. November 21 – The "Paris Club" of creditor nations agreed to forgive up to 80% of Iraq's foreign debt in a compromise between the United States and European opponents of the Iraq war. US Treasury Secretary Snow said the agreement was "...a real milestone and shows that the trans-Atlantic alliance remains a strong force for good in the world.'' November 17 – French President Chirac said in an interview that the Iraq war had not made the world safer. He also questioned whether the UK benefited in any way from backing the US war effort. November 2 – Republican George W. Bush won a second term as President by defeating Democratic nominee Senator John Kerry. The victory came at the end of an election campaign that focused on the question of which candidate would better manage the war on terrorism, the crisis in Iraq, and other foreign and security policy challenges. September 22 – NATO decided to send military officers to run an officer training program in Iraq, expanding the alliance's presence there after overcoming resistance from several members, most notably France. October 29 – EU leaders, meeting in Rome, signed Europe's 465-article constitution, which must be approved by all 25-member states by the end of 2006 to come into effect. September 22 – NATO decided to send military officers to run an
officer training program in Iraq, expanding the alliance's presence there
after overcoming resistance from several members, most notably France. Under
the agreement, about 300 NATO officers will be sent to Iraq to set up and
administer a military academy at Rustamiya, on the outskirts of Baghdad. The
academy will help prepare mid-level and senior officers in Iraq's security
forces. September 14 – NATO will send 2000 more troops to Kosovo ahead
of parliamentary elections in October in the province currently administered
by the United Nations. The troops are being supplied by Italy, France and
Germany and will bring the number of soldiers in the region to 20,000 by the
time of the Oct. 23 vote. September 20 – It was announced that the Russian Federation and
Republic of Belarus would conduct their second Open Skies Treaty observation mission
over the territory of the United States. The Open Skies Treaty entered into
force on January 1, 2002. Since entry into force, this will be the second
observation mission the United States has hosted under the Treaty. To date,
the U.S. has conducted thirteen observation missions over the territories of
the Russian Federation and Republic of Belarus. In June, Russia and Belarus
conducted the first of their two observation missions over the United States.
September14 – On a visit to NATO headquarters, interim
Iraqi President Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar welcomed the Alliance’s
assistance to Iraq and called for further assistance on an urgent basis. September 10 – During a one-day visit to NATO partner
country Sweden on 10 September, NATO Secretary General De Hoop Scheffer said
the Alliance was seeking to involve interested partners more closely in
NATO’s activities and operations. September 10 – NATO announced it was increasing its
presence in Afghanistan in support of the nation’s election process.
The new troops will augment and support the already in–theater forces
boosting the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) capabilities
leading up to the election. September 7 – The NATO-Russia Council condemned the recent
terrorist attacks in Russia. The Council met in extraordinary session for the
first time in more than two years of operation to discuss the recent wave of
terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation. September 5 – France took command of NATO peacekeeping
operations in Kosovo. September 2 – EU declared its shock at the terrorist actions in
the Russian Federation August 14 – Russian Defense Minister Sergei B. Ivanov
criticized NATO's expansion into the three Baltic states. August 14 – The core of NATO’s Training
Implementation Mission in Iraq arrived in Baghdad to identify best methods
for training Iraqi forces and start training selected headquarters personnel.
August 10 – NATO’s AWACS radar aircraft started
patrols of Greek airspace to protect the Olympic games. August 9 – The five-nation Eurocorps took command of the
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) for
the next six months. August 3-5 – NATO experts observed a Russian military
exercise, Avaria 2004, focused on protecting and defending nuclear weapons
convoys and responding to terrorist attacks. August 2 – NATO deployed elements of its Multinational
Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear battalion to Greece, the first
part of operational activities to assist the Greek authorities in ensuring
security for the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. August 1 – UN, EU and NATO personnel took part in a border
control training organized by NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo. The objective
is to improve Kosovo border security through training nearly 700 police,
military and civilian personnel from Kosovo, Albania and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia1, July 13 – On his first visit to NATO, the Foreign Minister
of Iraq, Hoshyar Zebari, appealed to the Alliance to provide Iraqi forces
with training and equipment as soon as possible. July 12 – NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
said that NATO and the EU should broaden their strategic partnership beyond
the Balkans and exploit its full potential. July 2 – In an interview with the New York Times, NATO
Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer criticized the Bush
administration’s attitude toward NATO. . "If the mission defines the coalition, then you don't need
NATO," he said. "You will then see the Europeans falling into each
other's arms." He said he had a "simple message" for
Washington regarding NATO: "Get engaged." July 1 – NATO took a first step to further expanding its
presence in northern Afghanistan by taking command of provincial
reconstruction teams in Mazar-e-Sharif and Maimana. June 29 – NATO leaders met at the summit in Istanbul,
Turkey [Istanbul
Summit Communiqué] [The Istanbul Declaration].
In the course of the meeting, they agreed that the NATO-led Stabilization
Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina would be brought to a successful end
at the end of this year. The European Union has agreed to take responsibility
over from NATO at that time. The leaders agreed that NATO would take on command of four new
provincial reconstruction teams and deploy extra troops to support the
upcoming elections in Afghanistan. They decided to elevate the
Alliance’s Mediterranean Dialogue to a genuine partnership and to
launch the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative with selected countries in the
broader region of the Middle East. The heads of state and government agreed to boost the
Alliance’s anti-terrorism efforts with an agreement to improve
intelligence sharing and to develop new, high-tech defenses against terrorist
attacks. In a statement released on the first day of summit meetings, NATO
Heads of State and Government agreed to assist Iraq with the training of its
security forces [Statement
on Iraq]. US President George Bush expressed his support for cooperation with
the allies in dealing with security problems and asked for their support.
French President Chirac and German Chancellor Schroeder were supportive but
careful not to give the American president anything that he could use to
enhance his re-election prospects. June 22 – NATO, Russia and partner countries tested their
capabilities to jointly respond to a disaster situation in a field and
strategic-level exercise and seminar held in the Kaliningrad region of the
Russian Federation. June 22 – In a letter to the NATO Secretary General, the
interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ilyad Allawi requested NATO support through
training and other forms of technical assistance. June 17 – The foreign ministers of Albania, Croatia, and
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia came to NATO Headquarters to
present a joint strategy for NATO membership. June 7 – NATO and Ukraine sign an agreement on strategic
airlift June 1 – NATO assumed control of Kabul International
Airport May 24 – A Norwegian ISAF soldier was killed in a rocket
attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. May 13 – It was announced that NATO Airborne Early Warning
Aircraft (AWACS) would provide support for two major public events: the Royal
Wedding in Spain and the Euro 2004 Portuguese Championship. April 26 - 27 – The North Atlantic Council visited Afghanistan,
to assess the situation on the ground, as the Alliance prepared to expand its
mission in the country. April 7 - 8 – During a visit to Moscow, NATO Secretary
General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer signed agreements establishing Russian military
liaison offices at NATO’s top military headquarters. Russian President Putin, during the visit,
said, “Life shows that
simply expanding [NATO membership] will not enable us to effectively counter
the main threats that we are facing today.” April
5 – Experts and top officials from NATO countries and the Russian
Federation discussed ways of enhancing military cooperation in the fight
against terrorism at a conference in Norfolk, Virginia. April
2 – The flags of the seven new NATO members were raised in a ceremony
at NATO headquarters. Meeting with fellow foreign ministers in Brussels to
celebrate the event, US Secretary of State Colin Power attempted to persuade
the allies that NATO should take on a peacekeeping role in Iraq. The issue will be on the agenda of the
NATO Summit to be held in Istanbul on 28-29 June. The ministers issued a
declaration on terrorism which can be found at: http://www.nato.int/docu/pr/2004/p04-057e.htm March 31 – Russia’s lower house of
parliament adopted a resolution that denounced NATO’s enlargement and
the deployment of four Belgian F-16 fighter jets to a Lithuanian air base to
patrol the air space of the new Baltic members of NATO. March
29 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia formally became members of NATO by
depositing their instruments of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with
the United States Government. March 26 – It was reported that NATO would
help provide security for the 2004 Athens Olympics. March 19 – The NATO Council met to assess
the security situation in Kosovo. The Council noted NATO’s resolve to
help bring this violence under control as quickly as possible. The Alliance
is deploying additional troops from the previously designated operational and
strategic reserve to ensure that KFOR has all the resources necessary. March 17 – The North Atlantic
Council strongly condemned the terrorist bombing of commuter trains in Madrid
on 11 March. March 16 – NATO decided to expand Operation
Active Endeavour to the whole Mediterranean. Since its inception on 18
October 2001 in response to the terrorist attacks on the United States, NATO
Task Force Endeavor has conducted surveillance and monitoring operations of
the major shipping lanes in the Eastern Mediterranean. More than 41,000
vessels have been hailed since the beginning of the operation, and 47
compliant boardings have taken place in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Additionally, more than 414 allied non-combatant ships have been escorted
successfully through the Strait of Gibraltar. March 15 – Javier Solana, EU High Representative for CFSP,
congratulated Vladimir Putin on his re-election as President of the Russian
Federation and stressed the importance of the development of the
partnership between the EU and Russia March 14 – Elections in Spain removed the party of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from power. Voters apparently blamed Aznar’s support of the US-led war in Iraq for the bombings that killed just under 200 people in Madrid on 11 March and rebuffed the government’s attempt to blame the bombings on Basque nationalists. Voters overwhelmingly endorsed candidates from the opposition Socialist Party, whose leader, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, had promised to withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops from Iraq, move Spain's foreign policy away from such close links to the United States and restore good relations with European allies France and Germany that had opposed the Iraq war. March 13 – Greece formally asked NATO to help guard the 2004 Olympic
Games in Athens. March 8-12 – NATO and Russia conducted a
groundbreaking computer simulation in the United States to test joint
responses to missile attacks against deployed troops. March 3 – In a lecture on the EU’s
role after enlargement, on the High-Level Conference on the future of
transatlantic relations, EU Commission President Romano Prodi said that “even in the most complex
situations, Europe and the United States have always managed to find the
right responses on a strategic scale that have had a positive impact on world
order and balance.” February 26 – In a speech at the European
Parliament, EU Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten said he was
disappointed with the results of five years of intensive co-operation with
Russia. He said the EU should start discussing frankly Russian practices that
run counter to European values, such as human rights in Chechnya, media
freedom and co-operation on the environment. Patten suggested the EU should
not hesitate to defend its interests vigorously. He urged more and better
co-ordination between policies defined at EU level and the approach of
individual Member States to relations with Russia. February 19 – The NATO-led peacekeeping
force in Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted search operations in Pale targeted
at the support network of indicted war criminals. February 16 – The
EU's Political and Security Committee (PSC) and the North Atlantic Council
(NAC) met to discuss the question of how and when the European Union might
assume responsibility for a "follow on force" in
Bosnia/Herzegovina. EU high representative Javier Solana said the two
sides had "good discussion" on the intended hand-over of the
peacekeeping mission and the EU will closely cooperate with NATO to ensure
the success of the transfer. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
said the hand-over will make the EU and NATO "close together," but
"it is too early to decide" the specific timetable for the transfer
because "homework" on the preparation has to be done "on both
sides." February
13 – EU commissioner Chris Patten gave a speech titled: “Has the
transatlantic relationship run out of road?” Patten said,
“there’s much more that unites than divides us” and
emphasised the mutual need for cooperation in all fields. –
According to US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow at the Centre for European
Security Studies, Russia does not have to choose between a European or an
Atlantic approach: "The choice between Europeanism and Atlanticism - by
which people in reality are referring to the United States - is a false
one” February
12 – On 12 February nine nations signed an agreement with the NATO
Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) to provide NATO with strategic sealift
capability for rapidly deployable forces. –
According to undersecretary of State John Bolton: “Even though the longstanding
friendship between the United States and Germany was tested by
"undeniable differences over our conception of the threat posed by
Saddam Hussein, and the methods taken to address that threat," the Bush
Administration "has never underestimated the importance of our
relationship with Germany, and has worked hard to contain and repair any
damage to our mutual friendship" –
All 19 NATO member countries have now ratified the accession protocols, which
will permit seven new countries to become parties to the North Atlantic
Treaty and members of NATO. The seven countries – Bulgaria, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – were invited to
join the Alliance at the NATO Summit in Prague in November 2002. They are expected to join NATO by the
time of the next Summit in May 2004. This is the second wave of NATO
enlargement towards former communist states. The Czech Republic, Hungary and
Poland joined the Alliance in March 1999. February
9 – Canadian Lt. Gen Rick Hillier assumed command of the NATO-led
peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan from German Lt Gen Götz F.E.
Gliemeroth in a ceremony held in Kabul. –
Finnish General Gustav Hagglund, Chairman of the European Union Military
Committee, told a seminar in Brussels that, in his personal view, the
European Union, not NATO, should run Europe’s defense. Hagglund
reportedly said “If 280
million Americans can take care of the defense of their homeland without
European involvement, isn’t it fair to ask the 450 million Europeans to
arrange the defense of their area without the Americans?” According to
Hagglund’s concept, the EU would manage defense of the continent while
NATO coordinated US and European military activities beyond Europe. –
US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld urges for a better intelligence cooperation
within NATO and thinks that this would increase mutual understanding between
NATO-states: “"One thing NATO might do,” Rumsfeld said,
“would be to do a better job of seeing that the intelligence capabilities
of the respective countries are brought together and that the people in NATO
and the capitals of NATO countries are kept tuned into those threats and the
kinds of capabilities that we as free people face. We're much more likely to
get a faster common understanding to the extent we have a reasonably similar
perspective with respect to what the facts are.” –
The European Commission adopted a Communication
on EU-Russia relations that proposes measures to improve the effectiveness of
EU-Russia relations, in particular in light of increased EU and Russian
interdependence, the EU's historic enlargement on 1 May and the unresolved
conflicts in the Newly Independent States (NIS). It underlines that the EU
and Russia should be ready, as strategic partners, to discuss frankly all
issues of concern, including human rights, media freedom and events in
Chechnya in addition to strengthening co-operation on concrete issues, on the
basis of common interests. The Communication offers a basis for discussions
on a review and strengthening of EU-Russia relations at the General Affairs
and External Relations Council on 23 February. February
6 – NATO Defence Ministers met in Munich on 6 February for informal
talks on the Alliance’s operations and transformation, including the
expansion of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan. January
29-30 – During a two-day visit to the United States, NATO Secretary
General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called on Europe and the United States to set
their differences aside and address key security threats. The new Secretary
General defined his primary objectives for the Alliance as bringing stability
to Afghanistan, preparing NATO for a greater role in Iraq, and improving
force capability and restoring cooperation among member states January
27 – An attack against soldiers of the International Security
Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) killed a Canadian soldier and injured
several other soldiers and civilians. January
22 – NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer addressed the 2004
World Economic Forum, underscoring the importance of the strategic
partnership between NATO and the European Union. January
21 – After a meeting with NATO Secretary General, The new
chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy pledged closer cooperation
between NATO and the OSCE, particularly in the fight against terrorism and in
resolving regional conflicts and building democracy in the Balkans, the
Caucasus and Central Asia. January
13 – Within the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace, a
UK-led training initiative promoting conflict prevention and long-term
stability throughout Central and Eastern Europe was launched in Slovakia on
13 January. January
12 – The new NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, made the
first call on a new, secure NATO-Russia hotline as part of his round of
courtesy calls to NATO and partner countries. This hotline was established in
December 2003 and is one aspect of relations between NATO and the Russian
Federation. January
10-12 – From 10 to 12 January, NATO-led peacekeepers in Bosnia and
Herzegovina conducted a short notice operation in Pale to search for indicted
war criminal Radovan Karadzic and others. January 9
– US Secretary of State, Colin Powell said that the United States would
do more to reach out and show our European colleagues that America
appreciates the partnerships they have with their European colleagues, either
through NATO or the EU or in other bilateral arrangements January 6 --A
ceremony held in Kunduz marked the transfer of command of the Kunduz Provincial
Reconstruction Team to NATO and a first step in the expansion of the
Alliance’s mission in the country. January 5 –
Former Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer took office as NATO
Secretary General, succeeding Britain’s Lord Robertson. De Hoop
Scheffer said that NATO’s first priority should be to succeed in the
mission that it had taken on in Afghanistan: “The world community and
NATO cannot afford to lose there,” he observed. 2003 December 18 – The Kremlin announced that Russia would join
negotiations on reducing Iraq’s foreign debt as urged by the United
States. Moscow made it clear that its involvement would require consideration
for the interests of Russian companies that had signed contracts with the
former Iraqi government. The Russian statement followed agreement by the
governments of France, Germany, Italy and Britain to participate in the debt
reduction process. The Bush administration had upset Russia, France and
Germany by declaring that companies from those countries (which did not
support the Iraq war effort) would not be eligible as prime contractors for
US-funded Iraqi construction projects. For the ACI’s view of this
affair, see A Policy of Reward and Retribution:
The Bush administration shoots itself and transatlantic relations in the foot, Opinion from the Atlantic Community Initiative, December
11, 2003. December 13 – A Brussels summit meeting of 15 EU member and 10 applicant countries failed to reach agreement on a constitution for the union. Differences over power sharing in the enlarged EU were cited as the main obstacle to accord. For official accounts and documents of the meeting go to http://www.ueitalia2003.it/EN/LaPresidenzaInforma/Calendario/12/12/ev_12dicCIG.htm December 12 – EU leaders, meeting in Brussels, agreed to create a small EU military planning cell. The accord was reached in spite of earlier Bush administration worries that such a cell could undermine NATO cooperation. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the final accord fully met London's requirements not to do harm to NATO: "This gives us the opportunity to keep the transatlantic American alliance very strong, but making sure that in circumstances where America is not engaged in an operation, and where vital European interests are involved, that Europe can act," Blair told reporters. "That's exactly what we wanted, and doing it in a way that's completely consistent with NATO as the cornerstone of our alliance," he said. The unit will be co-located with the EU's military staff in Brussels. A separate EU unit attached to SHAPE, NATO’s military headquarters in Mons, Belgium, would also be made permanent. December 4-5 – NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, the alliance’s possible future role in Iraq, and preparations for the summit meeting planned for Istanbul, Turkey in 2004. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania, whose representatives joined in the session, are scheduled to be welcomed into NATO at the Istanbul meeting. Click here for the NATO update on the meeting. December 1-2 – NATO defense ministers, meeting in Brussels, agreed in principle to begin expanding the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan beyond Kabul. Alliance members pledged to deliver the troops and capabilities required. With regard to Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was agreed that the Alliance would reduce its presence to a deterrent force of 7,000 troops by June 2004, in light of the improving security situation. The ministers also agreed that NATO would examine options for a possible termination of the mission and handover to the EU by the end of 2004. In Kosovo, a small reduction in force levels to 17,500 troops will be carried out. The ministers also took special note of the activation as of 1 December of the NATO multinational Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defence Battalion. Click here for the communiqué of the ministers meeting as the Defense Planning Committee and Nuclear Planning Group (without France) and here for the communiqué of the ministers meeting as the North Atlantic Council (with France). Click here for the ministerial assessment of progress to date in transforming NATO’s military capabilities. November 21 – President Bush concluded a state visit
to the United Kingdom punctuated by massive street protests against
US-British policies toward Iraq. In a major foreign policy speech during the
visit, Bush acknowledged that opinions
differed about how postwar Iraq should be rebuilt, but said: "Whatever
has come before, we now have only two options: To keep our word or to break
our word….Failure of democracy in Iraq would throw its people back into
misery and turn that country over to terrorists who wish to destroy
us." President Bush
underlined the importance of transatlantic cooperation and European unity,
saying “For 54 years,
America has stood with our partners in NATO, the most effective multilateral
institution in history. We're committed to this great democratic alliance,
and we believe it must have the will and the capacity to act beyond Europe
where threats emerge…. My nation welcomes the growing unity of Europe,
and the world needs America and the European Union to work in common purpose
for the advance of security and justice.” November 19 – The European Union and NATO initiated their first joint crisis management exercise based on standing arrangements for NATO/EU consultations and cooperation based on the “Berlin Plus” agreements. The exercise, based on a fictitious scenario, focused on how the EU strategic politico-military planning for an EU-led operation supported by NATO assets and capabilities. November 18 – Following a meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said that the discussion had smoothed over a series of US-Belgian disputes that had brought Belgian-US relations to an all-time low. The relationship has been troubled by US decision to go to war against Iraq, Belgium’s initiatives aimed at intensifying defense cooperation among a small group of European countries, and a Belgian genocide law, now modified to take US concerns into account, that had permitted politically motivated war crimes charges against President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Powell, among others. November 12 – A suicide bomb attack against the Italian Carabinieri barracks in Nasiriyah, Iraq killed 33, including 19 Italians (2 Caribinieri, five army soldiers and two civilians) and 14 non-Italians. October 17 – The European Union concluded its fall 2003 summit in Brussels amidst controversy over the future of European defense cooperation. British Prime Minister Blair focused on reassuring the United States that nothing would be done to undermine NATO. Although other EU leaders agreed that the EU should avoid harming NATO, there were obvious differences about how far EU defense consolidation could go before it became a threat to the transatlantic alliance. October 16 – Press reports
indicated that in the course of a contentious meeting of the North Atlantic
Council the US Permanent Representative Nicholas Burns told fellow
ambassadors that the European Union’s pursuit of greater military autonomy
posed "one of the greatest dangers to the transatlantic
relationship." The Bush administration was reportedly upset that the UK
had agreed with France and Germany on the question of establishing a separate
European Union operational headquarters and moving ahead with
“structured cooperation” among willing EU members. October 15 – The NATO Response Force (NRF) was inaugurated when NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General James L. Jones, handed over the NRF-flag to the Joint Operational Commander, General Sir Jack Deverell. According to NATO, “The NRF is designed to be robust, at high readiness, fully trained and certified and prepared to tackle the full spectrum of missions, including force. When NATO decides to employ it, the NRF will be ready to deploy in five days and will be able to sustain itself for 30 days.” The force is expected to reach Full Operational Capability by fall 2006. October 8-9 – NATO Ministers of Defense, joined by those of the 7 invited countries expected to join NATO next year, reviewed NATO’s process of transformation at an informal meeting held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The minister focused particularly on the need to increase the deployability and usability of NATO's forces. Speaking at press conference Secretary General Lord Robertson stressed that “if operations such as ISAF in Afghanistan are to succeed, we must generate more usable soldiers and have the political will to deploy more of them on multinational operations,” a theme frequently echoed in Robertson’s speeches as he made his farewell tour of Alliance capitals. September 22 – The North Atlantic Council appointed Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, currently Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Secretary General of NATO and Chairman of the North Atlantic Council, in succession to Lord Robertson. Mr. de Hoop Scheffer will assume his functions as Secretary General on 1 January 2004. September 20 – British Prime Minister Tony Blair, France’s President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder met in Berlin to attempt to smooth over differences over Iraq policy. The leaders also agreed in principle on developing more “structured” defense cooperation among a core group of European Union members. September 1 – The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General James L. Jones, announced that Allied Command Europe (ACE) will officially be renamed, Allied Command Operations (ACO). The change was mandated in decisions taken by NATO leaders at the 2002 Prague Summit to revitalize NATO and its military command structure with the creation of two new headquarters, ACO and Allied Command Transformation (ACT). ACO will continue to embrace all the NATO commands in Europe and add to its Area of Responsibility those operational elements that formerly came under the Supreme Allied Command Atlantic (SACLANT). SACLANT was decommissioned and ACT was established in its place on June 19, 2003 at an historic ceremony held in Norfolk, Virginia. Gen. Jones retains the title of SACEUR and assumes strategic command for the preparation and conduct of all joint (sea, land and air) NATO operations. Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) retains its name. August 11 – NATO formally assumed leadership of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a UN-mandated force responsible for providing security in and around Kabul in Afghanistan. The ISAF command became NATO’s first mission beyond the Euro-Atlantic area.
July 29 – The EU and NATO released a new pact laying out a concerted approach to security and stability in the Western Balkans. The two organizations agreed to cooperate in a wide variety of areas including crisis prevention and management, defense reform, strengthening the rule of law, preventing terrorism, border security and arms control. July 16 – The North Atlantic Council agreed to extend the availability of NATO assets to the European Union’s Operation Concordia in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia until 15 December 2003. July 11 – Poland suffered its first combat death since the aftermath of World War II when a Polish major assigned to the multi-national division led by Poland was fatally wounded in an ambush south of Baghdad. July 2 – A ceremony in Pristina, Kosovo, marked the withdrawal of the Russian military contingent from the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo after four years of service. June 21 – The European Union held a Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki, Greece. June 19 – In a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia, US, NATO’s former Allied Command Atlantic was decommissioned and Allied Command Transformation established in its place. June 13-14 – The Czech people vote to join the EU by 77.3 per cent to 23.7 per cent on a 55.2 per cent turnout. June 12-13 – NATO defense minister, meeting in Brussels, approved plans for a major reorganization of NATO’s command structure. Instead of NATO’s operations being run by either the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) or Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT), all operational commands will be under the control of the new Allied Command Operations, based at SHAPE in Mons, Belgium, while SACLANT will cease to exist. Instead, a new command, Allied Command Transformation, will be established to oversee the transformation of NATO's military capabilities. It will be based in Norfolk, United States, the same location as the former SACLANT. The ministers also approved a concept for the NATO Response Force designed as a robust rapid reaction fighting force that could be quickly deployed anywhere in the world. Click here for the final communiqué. Click here for the Defense Planning Committee and Nuclear Planning Group communiqué and here for the North Atlantic Council meeting as defense ministers communiqué. June 7-8 – The Polish people voted to join the EU by 77.5 per cent to 22.5 per cent on a 58.8 per cent turnout. June 3-4 – NATO foreign ministers, meeting in Madrid, Spain, said the Alliance’s taking on of new missions in Afghanistan and in support of Poland in Iraq showed NATO’s transformation was well underway. In spite of on-going transatlantic and intra-European disputes about Iraq, the Ministers agreed that NATO’s continuing relevance was demonstrated by the recent agreements on cooperation with the European Union, the decision to take over of the command of the ISAF peacekeeping force in Afghanistan in August 2003, and to assist Poland in its Iraq mission. Click here for the NAC final communiqué. June 3 – The North Atlantic Council approved providing the support requested by Poland in relation to its planned role in the stabilization force in Iraq. May 23 – NATO’s Defence Planning Committee announced its agreement to a request from President Bush to appoint Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., US Navy, as Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation. May 17 – The Slovak people voted to join the EU by 92.5 per cent to 6.2 per cent on a 52.1 per cent turnout. May 13 – For the first time ever, all nineteen NATO Ambassadors joined their Russian counterpart for a meeting in Moscow of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). May 2-3 - EU foreign ministers held an informal meeting on a cruise ship near the Greek island of Rhodes. They discussed the defense proposals issued on April 29 by Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxembourg, how to heal the rifts over the Iraq war within Europe and between Europe and the United States, and how the Union can participate in the building of postwar Iraq, among other issues. May 1 - In an address to the American nation, US President Bush announced that "major combat operations" in the Iraq war were over. To date no conclusive evidence of weapons of mass destruction has been found, and the fate of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his two sons remains unknown. April 30 - The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 19-0 in favor of enlarging NATO to include seven new members. The new members are Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. April 29 - The leaders of Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxembourg held a meeting in Brussels to discuss developing an European defense union that would be independent of NATO. The four European heads of state and government said that they were not trying to weaken NATO but to strengthen the European pillar with NATO and to give the EU the ability to become a strong partner of the US. Many of the proposals they issued built on existing plans for an EU defense force and proposals for strengthening European defense cooperation being developed by the European constitutional convention. Their four page declaration also included plans for their own rapid-reaction force centered on the Franco-German brigade and two new European military institutions: "a multinational deployable force headquarters" for operations that do not involve NATO and a "nucleus of collective capability for planning and conducting operations for the European Union." Reactions to these proposals from the US, NATO, and EU countries that did not attend the meeting questioned the wisdom of creating additional European military institutions rather th |
