郑州二手4.2米厢式货车:[Will NATO disband soon?]

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Will NATO disband soon?

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2011-6-12 11:00



Norway to withdraw fighter jets from Libya operation by August



Norway will scale down its fighter jet contribution in Libya from six to four planes and withdraw completely from the NATO-led operation by August 1, the government said on Friday.


Defence Minister Grete Faremo said she expects understanding from NATO allies because Norway has a small air force and cannot "maintain a large fighter jet contribution during a long time."


The announcement comes as the Obama administration puts pressure on Germany, Poland, Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands to shoulder a greater share of the alliance campaign, which has heated up with intensified air strikes on Libya's capital.


The Scandinavian country's air force says Norwegian F-16 jets have carried out about 10 percent of the NATO air strikes in Libya since March 31.


A NATO spokeswoman said the bloc appreciates Norway's contribution to the operation.


"We also note the fact that there are still several weeks to go, that they will continue contributing for quite some time yet, which we also appreciate," Oana Lungescu told The Associated Press.


The alliance decided last weekend to extend the Libyan mission for 90 days, into late September. But it's unclear how fast the intervention will be able to end. The Libyan opposition holds about one-third of the inhabitable area of the country, but has struggled to make advances against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.



Gates warns Nato alliance at risk

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2011-6-12 11:00


Robert Gates used his final policy address as US defence secretary to warn European allies that they faced “the very real possibility of collective military irrelevance” and that Washington was becoming financially unable and politically unwilling to bear the brunt of their defence.


He said the continuation of Washington’s postwar policy was particularly at risk if European members of the Nato alliance refused to take on more of their own security burden. In a situation he described as “unacceptable”, he said the current Libyan campaign had highlighted the continent’s shortcomings.


“The mightiest military alliance in history is only 11 weeks into an operation against a poorly armed regime in a sparsely populated country,” Mr Gates told a gathering of European dignitaries. “Yet many allies are beginning to run short of munitions, requiring the US, once more, to make up the difference.”


In his hour-long address, Mr Gates noted that Washington had made frequent requests “with exasperation” that European Nato members meet the alliance’s benchmarks for defence spending.


But what made Mr Gates’ remarks more ominous was his assessment of Washington’s view of Europe. He argued that new American leaders, who unlike him had not worked closely with European counterparts through the cold war, may soon decide the return for the US on its transatlantic investment was not worth the cost.


“The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the US Congress – and in the American body politic writ large – to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defence,” Mr Gates said.


In the final months of his four-and-a-half year tenure, Mr Gates has made a series of stinging policy speeches that have shaken up the American foreign policy establishment. He has warned that the US military is likely to become smaller and able to deal with fewer threats. He has also added that any successor who advocated a land war in Asia or the Middle East should “have his head examined”.


But Friday’s speech, delivered after a two-day meeting of Nato defence ministers, was the only one directed at a foreign audience, a strong sign of how concerned Mr Gates is about both Europe’s failings and the shift in American mood.


He said that fears of a “two-tiered” alliance – with the US and a small group of European allies, including the UK – doing the difficult jobs, while the others benefit from Nato protection without bearing costs or risks, had long been discussed. Now they had finally materialised.


“This is no longer a hypothetical worry,” said Mr Gates, who has worked in national security jobs for most of the last five decades. “We are there today, and it is unacceptable.”


He noted that in the Libyan campaign, a “major augmentation” of US targeting specialists was needed to run the air war. But even then, the command centre in Italy, set up to handle 300 sorties a day, could barely find enough aircraft to launch about 150.


Mr Gates acknowledged he was predicting a “dismal” future for the Nato alliance, but he insisted European governments could still change course.


“It will take leadership from political leaders and policymakers on this continent,” Mr Gates said. “It cannot be coaxed, demanded or imposed from across the Atlantic.”





AP/Financial Times
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