willoweyes
04-03-2008, 01:28 PM
While here might not seem like an appropriate spot to put this article, i hate to cover up other people's good posts. so i just try to pick a quiet thread and make it fit.
Americans are squealing about how much water they should drink, and whether an inclination to smoke cigarettes might be genetic; meanwhile GWB pulls off this fast one in the Balkens, Romania in fact, where, if all of you are up on your "Left Behind" series you would know, the antichrist comes from. . . .
the NYT:
April 4, 2008
Bush Wins NATO Backing on Europe Missile Shield
By STEVEN ERLANGER and STEVEN LEE MYERS
BUCHAREST, Romania — NATO leaders agreed Thursday to endorse a United States missile defense system based in Europe and provide more troops for Afghanistan but they declined, as expected, to back President Bush’s proposal to bring Ukraine and Georgia closer to NATO membership.
While the rejection of Georgia and Ukraine was seen as an a capitulation to Russian concerns, Mr. Bush persuaded NATO to endorse his missile-defense plan as well as an agreement with the Czech Republic to build a radar for the system, both in the face of Russian objections.
“There has been, over 10 years, a real debate as to whether there is a ballistic missile threat,” Mr. Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, said. “And I think that debate ended today.”
The Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, has objected repeatedly to building parts of the missile defense system in former Soviet bloc states, despite Washington’s assurances that the system is a response to threats from Iran, not Russia. Mr. Putin, saying the system would fuel a new arms race, has even threatened to target the system with Russian missiles, while also offering a substitute system in Azerbaijan.
NATO’s final statement invited Russia to cooperate with the United States and Europe on developing defenses jointly.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Russian Parliament, said that missile defense would be high on the agenda for the Bush-Putin meeting in Sochi, scheduled after the NATO conference, which Mr. Putin is to attend Friday.
Mr. Kosachev said Russia doubted Washington’s motives. “We still do not have a proper explanation of this project,” he said. “It is not about the number of interceptors. It’s about undermining mutual confidence and trust.”
Regarding the increased troop levels in Afghanistan, a Washington priority, the main contributor was France. President Nicolas Sarkozy said Paris would send another battalion — some 700 troops — to eastern Afghanistan, freeing up American soldiers to deploy more in support of Canadian forces in the south, where the fighting against the Taliban is heaviest.
Mr. Sarkozy, in a joint press conference with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, repeated his stance that France intended to reintegrate fully into NATO once a separate European defense pillar became a reality. “Let Europe’s defense pole advance and we will continue to advance toward NATO,” he said. “I repeat, these are two things that go together, not one or the other, so let’s wait for the summit” in 2009, he said.
He praised Mr. Bush for comments “on the need for European defenses that would complement the alliance, which was, in my opinion, a historic turning point in U.S. policy,” Mr. Sarkozy said. “It was a gesture we have been waiting for, that has been noticed. It’s a gesture that shows understanding for what is happening in Europe.”
Mr. Bush praised Mr. Sarkozy, too, saying his trip to the United States last fall had an impact “like the latest incarnation of Elvis,” a senior American official said.
Mr. Bush traveled to Ukraine on the eve of the summit here and strongly endorsed Ukraine’s eventual membership. But the alliance decided not to offer Ukraine and George entry into its Membership Action Plan, or MAP, a set of requirements and reforms necessary to achieve full alliance membership.
While the administration was clearly disappointed, American officials focused on NATO’s agreement that the alliance’s foreign ministers would reconsider Ukraine and Georgia when they meet again in December, before President Bush leaves office. They suggested that invitations to the MAP program might come in a year, at the next summit meeting, to be jointly held by Germany and France, or in 2010.
Mr. Hadley, the national security adviser, said that most of the former Communist states that have joined NATO since the collapse of the Soviet Union had supported the American position. He and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice emphasized NATO’s final statement declaring that Georgia and Ukraine would become members someday, as would any other aspiring democracy in Europe, a policy the administration calls “open door.”
“If there was an open door, there’s now a wide-open door,” Ms. Rice said.
Still, the division within NATO was considered by some countries of Central and Eastern Europe to have sent a message of alliance weakness to Moscow. And German and British officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticized the Bush administration for not coming to grips soon enough with the Ukraine and Georgian problem. They suggested that Mr. Bush’s failure to try to work through the issue with Russia in advance created doubts among key allies like Germany and France, who also feel that Georgia’s leadership is unstable and that Ukraine, with a divided population and a new government, is not yet ready to enter MAP.
Boris I. Tarasyuk, a former Ukrainian foreign minister and close ally of President Viktor A. Yushchenko on NATO membership, said in an interview: “Moscow will be very satisfied with the outcome. But I’d like to say to them that this is not the end of the story. Sooner or later it will happen.”
Georgia’s foreign minister, David Bakradze, said: “A ‘no’ for Georgia will show those people in the Kremlin who think that by a policy of blackmail, by arrogance and aggression” they can influence NATO’s decisions.
NATO did extend full invitations to join the alliance to two key countries of the Western Balkans, Croatia and Albania. But in an embarrassment for NATO, which runs by full consensus, Greece insisted on vetoing the membership invitation of tiny Macedonia. Athens insists that the country must have a name different from Greece’s northern province to avoid any sense of territorial claim and “instability,” objections that NATO officials regard as ludicrous.
“This is a huge disappointment,” said Macedonian government negotiator Nikola Dimitrov. “It goes against the values that stand behind NATO. It’s very much against stability in the Balkans.”
Mr. Bush, addressing his NATO colleagues, praised reforms Macedonia has put in places and said that the “name issue needs to be resolved quickly, so that Macedonia can be welcomed into NATO as soon as possible.”
He did not mention Greece. Nor did Mr. Bush mention Ukraine and Georgia.
Judy Dempsey contributed reporting.
Americans are squealing about how much water they should drink, and whether an inclination to smoke cigarettes might be genetic; meanwhile GWB pulls off this fast one in the Balkens, Romania in fact, where, if all of you are up on your "Left Behind" series you would know, the antichrist comes from. . . .
the NYT:
April 4, 2008
Bush Wins NATO Backing on Europe Missile Shield
By STEVEN ERLANGER and STEVEN LEE MYERS
BUCHAREST, Romania — NATO leaders agreed Thursday to endorse a United States missile defense system based in Europe and provide more troops for Afghanistan but they declined, as expected, to back President Bush’s proposal to bring Ukraine and Georgia closer to NATO membership.
While the rejection of Georgia and Ukraine was seen as an a capitulation to Russian concerns, Mr. Bush persuaded NATO to endorse his missile-defense plan as well as an agreement with the Czech Republic to build a radar for the system, both in the face of Russian objections.
“There has been, over 10 years, a real debate as to whether there is a ballistic missile threat,” Mr. Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, said. “And I think that debate ended today.”
The Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, has objected repeatedly to building parts of the missile defense system in former Soviet bloc states, despite Washington’s assurances that the system is a response to threats from Iran, not Russia. Mr. Putin, saying the system would fuel a new arms race, has even threatened to target the system with Russian missiles, while also offering a substitute system in Azerbaijan.
NATO’s final statement invited Russia to cooperate with the United States and Europe on developing defenses jointly.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Russian Parliament, said that missile defense would be high on the agenda for the Bush-Putin meeting in Sochi, scheduled after the NATO conference, which Mr. Putin is to attend Friday.
Mr. Kosachev said Russia doubted Washington’s motives. “We still do not have a proper explanation of this project,” he said. “It is not about the number of interceptors. It’s about undermining mutual confidence and trust.”
Regarding the increased troop levels in Afghanistan, a Washington priority, the main contributor was France. President Nicolas Sarkozy said Paris would send another battalion — some 700 troops — to eastern Afghanistan, freeing up American soldiers to deploy more in support of Canadian forces in the south, where the fighting against the Taliban is heaviest.
Mr. Sarkozy, in a joint press conference with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, repeated his stance that France intended to reintegrate fully into NATO once a separate European defense pillar became a reality. “Let Europe’s defense pole advance and we will continue to advance toward NATO,” he said. “I repeat, these are two things that go together, not one or the other, so let’s wait for the summit” in 2009, he said.
He praised Mr. Bush for comments “on the need for European defenses that would complement the alliance, which was, in my opinion, a historic turning point in U.S. policy,” Mr. Sarkozy said. “It was a gesture we have been waiting for, that has been noticed. It’s a gesture that shows understanding for what is happening in Europe.”
Mr. Bush praised Mr. Sarkozy, too, saying his trip to the United States last fall had an impact “like the latest incarnation of Elvis,” a senior American official said.
Mr. Bush traveled to Ukraine on the eve of the summit here and strongly endorsed Ukraine’s eventual membership. But the alliance decided not to offer Ukraine and George entry into its Membership Action Plan, or MAP, a set of requirements and reforms necessary to achieve full alliance membership.
While the administration was clearly disappointed, American officials focused on NATO’s agreement that the alliance’s foreign ministers would reconsider Ukraine and Georgia when they meet again in December, before President Bush leaves office. They suggested that invitations to the MAP program might come in a year, at the next summit meeting, to be jointly held by Germany and France, or in 2010.
Mr. Hadley, the national security adviser, said that most of the former Communist states that have joined NATO since the collapse of the Soviet Union had supported the American position. He and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice emphasized NATO’s final statement declaring that Georgia and Ukraine would become members someday, as would any other aspiring democracy in Europe, a policy the administration calls “open door.”
“If there was an open door, there’s now a wide-open door,” Ms. Rice said.
Still, the division within NATO was considered by some countries of Central and Eastern Europe to have sent a message of alliance weakness to Moscow. And German and British officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticized the Bush administration for not coming to grips soon enough with the Ukraine and Georgian problem. They suggested that Mr. Bush’s failure to try to work through the issue with Russia in advance created doubts among key allies like Germany and France, who also feel that Georgia’s leadership is unstable and that Ukraine, with a divided population and a new government, is not yet ready to enter MAP.
Boris I. Tarasyuk, a former Ukrainian foreign minister and close ally of President Viktor A. Yushchenko on NATO membership, said in an interview: “Moscow will be very satisfied with the outcome. But I’d like to say to them that this is not the end of the story. Sooner or later it will happen.”
Georgia’s foreign minister, David Bakradze, said: “A ‘no’ for Georgia will show those people in the Kremlin who think that by a policy of blackmail, by arrogance and aggression” they can influence NATO’s decisions.
NATO did extend full invitations to join the alliance to two key countries of the Western Balkans, Croatia and Albania. But in an embarrassment for NATO, which runs by full consensus, Greece insisted on vetoing the membership invitation of tiny Macedonia. Athens insists that the country must have a name different from Greece’s northern province to avoid any sense of territorial claim and “instability,” objections that NATO officials regard as ludicrous.
“This is a huge disappointment,” said Macedonian government negotiator Nikola Dimitrov. “It goes against the values that stand behind NATO. It’s very much against stability in the Balkans.”
Mr. Bush, addressing his NATO colleagues, praised reforms Macedonia has put in places and said that the “name issue needs to be resolved quickly, so that Macedonia can be welcomed into NATO as soon as possible.”
He did not mention Greece. Nor did Mr. Bush mention Ukraine and Georgia.
Judy Dempsey contributed reporting.