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71. Not only "Containerspotting" - NATO's Redeployment from Landlocked Afghanistan

Author:
Heidi Reisinger
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
On 31 December 2014, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, the largest military mission of NATO, will be history. In line with the political decision taken at NATO's Lisbon Summit in 2010, ISAF troops will be leaving. With them will go all their equipment: a range of items, from weapon systems and armored vehicles to chairs, kitchens and fitness centers used by more than 100,000 troops and approximately the same amount of civilian personnel. This is a gigantic project. If one thought getting into Afghanistan was difficult, getting out is a lot harder. It represents the biggest multi-national military logistical challenge in modern history. Millions of tons of material have to be de-militarized, dismantled, handed over, sold, scrapped, recycled, donated to the Afghans and/or third nations, or transferred home. More than 125,000 containers and 80,000 military vehicles have to be disposed of or brought back home to NATO nations and NATO partner countries. If the containers and the vehicles were placed one after the other, end to end, they would form a line as long as the distance from Berlin to Paris.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, NATO, and International Security
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Europe, Paris, Asia, and Berlin

72. The Transatlantic Bargain

Author:
Karl-Heinz Kamp, Robert E. Hunter, Sean Kay, Mark D. Ducasse, Lawrence S. Kaplan, Diego A. Ruiz Palmer, Karl Kaiser, John Ikenberry, Wallace J. Thies, Michael Ruhle, Stanley R. Sloan Rob de Wijk, and Charles L. Barry
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
This project, on The Transatlantic Bargain, is designed to take a fresh look at the most basic elements of relations between the United States (and Canada) on one side of the Atlantic and European allies and partners on the other side. The requirement to take a fresh look derives from the radical changes that have taken place in so many areas in recent years, along with the need both to gain a basic understanding of the interests and values that motivate governments and peoples on the two sides of the North Atlantic and to provide a solid grounding of analysis to help shape polices for the future.
Topic:
NATO, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and North America

73. Emerging Security Challenges: A Glue for NATO and Partners?

Author:
Ioanna-Nikoletta Zyga
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed as a defensive military alliance more than six decades ago, one of its fundamental tasks was to deter Soviet aggression against Western Europe. Since the end of the Cold War, the Allies have come to understand that their security depends on their ability to face threats emerging from well beyond the Euro-Atlantic space. NATO has thus broadened its focus from collective defense to security management beyond its borders: its numerous operations in this capacity have included peace support, peacekeeping, disaster relief and counter-piracy missions. These operations have taken place not only in NATO's traditional areas of intervention such as the Balkans, but also as far afield as the Gulf of Aden, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, NATO, International Security, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa, Europe, and North Atlantic

74. Can NATO Find a Role for Itself vis-À -vis China?

Author:
James Boutilier
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
NATO is at a crossroads. This is not the first time that Brussels has been faced with critical decisions about the direction, character and raison d'être of this unique and remarkable organization. But this time the stakes are even higher. The major centers of global power are all weak simultaneously for individual and inter-connected reasons. The greatest power on earth and NATO's banker, the United States, is confronting almost insurmountable levels of debt and talk about the end of the American empire has become commonplace. The European community is reeling from the cumulative effect of debt crises. And China, the 21st century's "workshop of the world" (and in the eyes of some a potential savor of ailing economies in Europe) has begun to see its economy slow disturbingly. At the same time, two other phenomena are unfolding; the rapid and profound shift in the global centre of economic gravity from the Euro-Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific region and the winding down of NATO's involvement in Afghanistan. The latter, of course, raises the inevitable question: "What next?" The former raises a related question: "Does NATO's future lie in Asia?"
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, NATO, and Hegemony
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, China, Europe, and Asia

75. NATO's Nuclear Posture Review: Nuclear Sharing Instead of Nuclear Stationing

Author:
Karl-Heinz Kamp
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
On January 25, 2011 the first meeting of NATO's "Deterrence and Defense Posture Review" (DDPR) took place. This acronym describes a new Committee consisting of the Deputy Permanent Representatives of all NATO member countries, chaired by the NATO Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero. Its task is no less than to find a new Alliance consensus on the role of nuclear weapons in NATO's overall deterrence and defense posture. DDPR is set to address the crux of the nuclear question - in other words, "how to deter whom with what?"
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Nuclear Weapons, and Nuclear Power
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

76. Piracy - threat or nuisance?

Author:
Alessandro Schieffler
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Aspate of high-profile hijackings over the New Year and the publication of the 2009 Annual Piracy Report issued by the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre in mid-January have brought the piracy problem back on stage. Despite the employment of naval forces from the European Union, NATO and various nations in counter-piracy and counter-terrorism missions, the figures for 2009 are alarming: according to reports, from 2008 to 2009 piracy grew by almost 40%. It is not only since pirates captured the Sirius Star, a tanker carrying about 25% of Saudi Arabia's daily oil production, that we have also started to worry about the possible economic damage caused by these piratical activities: about 95% of all world trade is handled by maritime transport, with the shipping business itself accounting for 5% of global GDP. About 50,000 vessels are employed, most of them passing through bottlenecks such as the Gulf of Aden or the Malacca Straits, and therefore are exposed to attacks from ashore. Fears about the high economic cost of piracy seem therefore all too justified.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Oil, Terrorism, Maritime Commerce, and Piracy
Political Geography:
Europe

77. An interview with General James L. Jones, USMC, Retired, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), 2003-2006

Author:
David S. Yost
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The greatest achievements include the Alliance's enlargement from 19 to 26 allies and the progress made in fulfilling the vision of the [November 2002] Prague Summit for the transformation of NATO's military posture. The vision includes the creation of the NATO Response Force and the establishment of Allied Command Transformation. Thanks to Prague, since 2003 the Alliance has had two strategic commands; one for operations — Allied Command Operations located in Mons, Belgium — and one for transformation, Allied Command Transformation, in Norfolk, Virginia. The Alliance has also established three operational level commands. This new command structure involved a major headquarters realignment and significant manpower downsizing, plus the disestablishment of numerous headquarters.
Topic:
NATO, International Organization, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe, Belgium, Virginia, and Norfolk

78. Reinventing NATO's Public Diplomacy

Author:
Stefanie Babst
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
This paper examines some of the public diplomacy challenges that national governments and international organizations like NATO are increasingly facing. While new media technologies have become a powerful enabler in the globalised information environment, international security issues no longer remain 'close-hold' subjects reserved to foreign and security policymakers. Analyzing some of the current public trends in transatlantic themes in Europe and the United States, the author takes a closer look at NATO's evolving communication policies and activities. Evidently, public diplomacy has its limits. No matter how skilfully designed, it cannot replace political messages and contents. A serious political crisis or the loss of human lives cannot (and must not) be turned into a positive news story. However, if public diplomacy aims at establishing a trustful and interactive relationship between the seekers of information and the respective organization or government, public diplomacy requires political will, strategy and resources to be effective and credible.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Diplomacy, and International Security
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

79. The keys to understanding the Israel-Russia

Author:
Pierre Razoux
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The world financial crisis, the Iranian crisis and the Georgian crisis illuminate through different prisms the complex relations between Israel and Russia.The seeming contradictions of this odd couple are a constant source of serious concern and perplexity to theWestern world, and to NATO in particular, all the more so since Russia sent its army into Georgia and is back on the world stage as an essential player.Why is it that only six weeks after the verbal clash over the Georgian crisis in August 2008 (when Russia accused Israel of having armed and trained the Georgian army), Russia and Israel abolished their visa regulations, thus facilitating reciprocal trade? How do we explain the acceleration of capital flows between the two countries, at a time when world trade is clearly slowing down? And why is it that Moscow, after Washington, is still a destination of choice of Israeli prime ministers, while the Israeli authorities continue to insist that Israel has a special relationship with the United States? Are we to infer from this, then, that Israel and Russia are upgrading their strategic ties, as a popular Turkish magazine suggests ? Lastly, why was Israel one of the very few states in the Middle East to maintain regular relations with Russia after the ColdWar, unlike the many Arab states who coldshouldered their former arms supplier just as it was preparing to deliver sophisticated missile systems to Syria and a nuclear power station to Iran? For many observers, trapped in Cold War thinking, it was impossible to imagine Israel and Russia, the USSR's successor, as anything other than irreconcilable adversaries. This perception of Israel as the West's champion against Sovietsupported Arab countries overlooked the fact that the Arab-Israeli conflict arose from a regional conflict that went way beyond the confines of East-West confrontation. It also failed to take into account the deep and longstanding bonds between Israel and Russia, particularly in the area of immigration.
Topic:
Diplomacy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Arabia, and Syria

80. L'operation Active Endeavour et son impact sur le Dialogue méditerranéen de l'OTAN

Author:
Rachid Houdaïgui
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 ont profondément transformé la perception de la menace terroriste dans le monde et le rôle des Etats et des organisations internationales dans la lutte contre celle-ci. La réponse de l'Organisation du Traité de Atlantique Nord (OTAN) a été immédiate et ferme. Le 12 septembre, elle a invoqué, pour la première fois dans son histoire, la clause de défense collective relevant de l'article 5 du Traité de Washington, qui se traduira en pratique, quelques jours plus tard, par le lancement de huit mesures visant à soutenir les Etats-Unis. L'une de ces mesures consiste à déployer des unités des forces navales permanentes en Méditerranée orientale. Le 26 octobre 2001, est lancée l'Opération Active Endeavour (OAE), première et unique opération maritime de lutte contre le terrorisme menée sous l'égide de l'OTAN. Entre 2001 et 2006, l'OAE a vu son champ d'action s'élargir de la sous-région orientale à l'ensemble de la Méditerranée. Le Sommet de l'OTAN à Istanbul en juin 2004, a redimensionné l'OAE en invitant les partenaires1 de l'Alliance à y contribuer. Depuis lors, une dizaine d'Etats du Partenariat pour la paix (PPP) et du Dialogue méditerranéen (DM) ont répondu favorablement à cette invitation: la Russie, l'Ukraine et Israël sont dans une phase d'intégration très avancée; le Maroc, l'Algérie, la Croatie, la Géorgie et la Suède en sont à la phase de négociation intermédiaire.
Topic:
NATO and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe