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NATO Off the Wire
27 June 2008
A look at news and commentary regarding NATO on the Web
The spokesman's perspective:
Continuing our new series of video commentary, NATO Spokesman James Appathurai gives his personal perspective on recent articles discussing NATO. He invites you to write in with your own comments and opinions, which could be featured in the next installment.
E-mail comments to: press@hq.nato.int |
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Video
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25 June 2008
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| More German troops to Afghanistan |
Under pressure from NATO, Germany announced Tuesday that it would increase the number of soldiers available for duty in Afghanistan by almost one-third to 4,500, but that it would maintain its policy of keeping the bulk of them away from the relatively violent southern provinces.
Franz Josef Jung, the German defense minister, said the government wanted to increase the number of troops it could send to Afghanistan by 1,000, after a parliamentary limit of 3,500 expires in October. The increase is subject to the approval of the lower house of Parliament, the Bundestag. |
| Published on 25 June, 2008 by The International Herald Tribune |
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| NATO installing scanners in Afghanistan |
NATO has begun deploying advanced scanning technology at airports in Afghanistan to increase threat detection capabilities.
Officials say the vehicle scanning initiative from the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency will allow security personnel to scan for explosive threats from a safe distance of more than 200 yards, NATO reported. |
| Published on 25 June, 2008 by UPI, USA |
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| NATO sees Kosovo security force by end 2009 |
NATO is looking to have trained and launched a 2,500-strong Kosovo security force by the end of next year, an alliance spokesman said on Wednesday.
The force will be lightly armed and initially take on tasks such as crisis response, civil protection and ordnance disposal. |
| Published on 25 June, 2008 by Reuters |
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| Canadian general urges NATO countries to streamline bureaucracy |
NATO's top soldier says the alliance needs to overhaul sluggish bureaucracies that are having an effect on operations in places like Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Gen. Ray Henault, a Canadian who leaves his post later this week, says there is a need to speed up military and political decision-making at NATO headquarters and in the capitals of the 26 allies. |
| Published on 25 June, 2008 by The Canadian Press |
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| Russia's actions could speed up Georgian NATO membership - Polish FM |
Russia's unreasonable actions could help to speed up Georgia's accession to NATO, the Polish foreign minister said Wednesday after a meeting of the New Group of Georgia's Friends in Warsaw.
Issues of Georgian cooperation with NATO and the European Union, including Tbilisi's joining the Membership Action Plan (MAP), were discussed in the Polish capital. |
| Published on 25 June, 2008 by Ria Novosti, Russia |
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| NATO chief in Italy for Afghan talks |
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer travels to Rome Thursday to sound out Italy on exactly how it plans to use its troops in future in Afghanistan, his spokesman said.
Scheffer will hold talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, President Giorgio Napolitano, Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa and other senior officials. |
| Published on 25 June, 2008 by Reuters. |
26 June 2008
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| NATO chief in Italy for Afghan talks |
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer travels to Rome Thursday to sound out Italy on exactly how it plans to use its troops in future in Afghanistan, his spokesman said.
Scheffer will hold talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, President Giorgio Napolitano, Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa and other senior officials. |
| Published on 26 June, 2008 by AFP. |
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| NATO-trained Kosovo security force to be operational by end of 2009 |
A 2,500-strong Kosovo Security Force (KSF) to be trained by NATO will be operational toward the end of 2009, said a NATO spokesman on Wednesday.
"The first phase of standing up the KSF should be completed toward the end of 2009. And then we will see a few years later it becomes fully operational," James Appathurai told reporters. |
| Published on 26 June, 2008 by Xinhua, China. |
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| NATO chief praises Italy's willingness to lift restrictions on use of Afghan contingent |
NATO's secretary general on Thursday praised the willingness of Italy to revise rules that could allow its troops to be deployed temporarily in volatile areas of Afghanistan, the government said.
In meetings with Premier Silvio Berlusconi and other top government officials, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer expressed "profound gratitude" for Italy's readiness to revise restrictions on its 2,300-strong contingent in Afghanistan, the premier's office said in a statement. |
| Published on 26 June, 2008 by The International Herald Tribune |
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| Italy, NATO discuss reducing Afghan caveats |
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer met Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday to discuss a possible reduction of restrictions on troop movement in Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman said.
Italy has about 2,700 troops in Afghanistan on peacekeeping and humanitarian duties in the Kabul and Herat regions. They operate under a "caveat" that rules out NATO using them in the more violent south or in front-line combat roles. |
| Published on 26 June, 2008 by Reuters |
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