[A-List] At Top UK Think Tank, NATO Chief Trumpets Global Deployment

[Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.nato.int/docu/speech/2004/s040212a.htm

NATO International
February 12, 2004

Speech by NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer
[Delivered to the International Institute for
Strategic Studies in London - though only obliquely
alluded to on the NATO Website]



-[A]fghanistan needs more support. More provincial
reconstruction teams need to be deployed into the
provinces. ISAF and the PRTs must receive all the
equipment and personnel they need to do to job.
-NATO is already doing its part. And we will do more.
In Munich, NATO Defence Ministers made commitments to
contribute to new PRTs. I very much welcome the UK
Government?s decision to set up a new PRT in the
north, and to contribute to a forward operating base
as well.
I thanked Prime Minister Blair for that contribution
when we met this afternoon.
-NATO is also helping the international community to
succeed in another important theatre: Iraq. As many of
you know, NATO is also supporting Poland in its
leadership of a division in Central Iraq. But momentum
is growing for NATO to do more.
-The reason that NATO is under pressure to do more is
simple. No other organisation can generate, deploy,
command and sustain large, multinational military
operations like NATO can. Very simply, NATO?s
capability makes it a unique resource for the
Euro-Atlantic community.
-I know that NATO?s operations succeed because we have
the military resources to do the job. I know that the
Alliance is attractive to new members and partners
alike because it can back up its words with actions.
And I am well aware that Article 5 ? the commitment to
collective defence ? is a commitment which we must
always be able to meet.
So let me be clear: for me, capabilities are a
priority. We are on the right path, with the NATO
Response Force, the Prague Capabilities Commitment,
and Allied Command Transformation. I intend to ensure
that these blueprints get translated into reality.
-Under what we call the Berlin Plus arrangements, NATO
and the EU are consulting on a range of important
security issues. The EU can make use, and has made
use, of NATO?s planning and support to carry out its
operations.
-I want to see Bosnia and Herzegovina join Partnership
for Peace. That is why we will keep a NATO presence in
Bosnia, even after SFOR has left, to assist the
government with defence reform and other important
tasks.
I would also like to see Serbia and Montenegro do more
to meet the requirements of PfP membership.
And for both countries, a key requirement for me, and
for NATO, is that they must cooperate with the
International Tribunal in the Hague.
-[I]f NATO can play its part in helping the countries
of the Greater Middle East to reform, as part of a
broader international effort, then how could we say
no?
-Today, the Alliance is welcoming new democracies.
Building stronger partnerships. And running operations
in the Hindu Kush to preserve our peace, and our way
of life, here at home.






Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me begin by thanking the IISS, and John Chipman,
for hosting my first speech in the United Kingdom as
NATO Secretary General. I am certainly very pleased to
be here.

The IISS has always been one of this country?s leading
think-tanks. Under John?s leadership, it has worked
very hard to build transatlantic bridges when it comes
to security. And your publications, including the
Military Balance, are on many shelves in NATO
headquarters. For all of this, I congratulate you.

I would also like to thank another individual -- Lord
Robertson. Lord Robertson steered the NATO ship
through some uncharted waters, and around a few mines.
And he did a great job.

Because when I took over the leadership of NATO from
him, I inherited an organisation in excellent shape.
An organisation perfectly placed to seize, and build
on, the new momentum in transatlantic relations.

That?s not just my opinion. Over the past five weeks,
I have met with some key leaders of NATO countries.
And the verdict in Washington, in Paris, in Berlin and
today in London is strong and clear. The Transatlantic
community has important work to do -- and to do
together. There is no point in looking to the past.

As President Chirac said to me, ?The tensions of the
past must disappear without a trace?.

Last week, NATO ministers met in Munich to discuss the
key security issues on our transatlantic plate. And
one look at our agenda demonstrates how important it
is that Europe and North America work together.
Because NATO is at the heart of our common efforts to
preserve our common security, and defend our shared
values, in the 21st century. And we certainly have a
lot of work to do.

We have work to do in Afghanistan. I was just there a
few days ago, to witness a change of command ceremony
at the headquarters of the International Security
Assistance Force.

I was briefed thoroughly by the military personnel
helping to keep the peace in the country. I also had a
long conversation with President Karzai. And the
messages I got from all concerned were the same.

The first message was clear: there is hope in
Afghanistan. We are making progress. Kabul, under
ISAF?s protection, is getting safer. The Provincial
Reconstruction Teams in the provinces are helping
people to lead better lives, and extending the
influence of the central government.

And the coalition that is fighting the Taliban and
Al-Qaida is determined that it will prevail.

The second message, however, was just as clear: to
succeed, Afghanistan needs more support. More
provincial reconstruction teams need to be deployed
into the provinces. ISAF and the PRTs must receive all
the equipment and personnel they need to do to job.
And we must provide assistance to help this summer?s
elections run properly.

NATO is already doing its part. And we will do more.
In Munich, NATO Defence Ministers made commitments to
contribute to new PRTs. I very much welcome the UK
Government?s decision to set up a new PRT in the
north, and to contribute to a forward operating base
as well.

I thanked Prime Minister Blair for that contribution
when we met this afternoon. It is just another
demonstration that, when it comes to security, the UK
continues to punch above its weight.

Prime Minister Blair and I agreed on what I repeat to
you now: we know that we cannot afford to fail. And we
know that NATO is the best way to succeed.

NATO is also helping the international community to
succeed in another important theatre: Iraq. As many of
you know, NATO is also supporting Poland in its
leadership of a division in Central Iraq. But momentum
is growing for NATO to do more.

If a sovereign Iraqi government, with the support of
the United Nations, were to request NATO to play a
greater role, I do not see how we could abdicate our
responsibilities.

The reason that NATO is under pressure to do more is
simple. No other organisation can generate, deploy,
command and sustain large, multinational military
operations like NATO can. Very simply, NATO?s
capability makes it a unique resource for the
Euro-Atlantic community.

Now, I know that my predecessor?s number one priority
was capabilities. As I recall, capabilities were also
his priorities two and three. Let me reassure anyone
who fears that, as an ex-foreign minister, I will lose
this focus. I will not.

I know that NATO?s operations succeed because we have
the military resources to do the job. I know that the
Alliance is attractive to new members and partners
alike because it can back up its words with actions.
And I am well aware that Article 5 ? the commitment to
collective defence ? is a commitment which we must
always be able to meet.

So let me be clear: for me, capabilities are a
priority. We are on the right path, with the NATO
Response Force, the Prague Capabilities Commitment,
and Allied Command Transformation. I intend to ensure
that these blueprints get translated into reality.

Another blueprint I will push to see translated into
reality is the NATO-EU relationship. And I believe we
have the right blueprint.

Under what we call the Berlin Plus arrangements, NATO
and the EU are consulting on a range of important
security issues. The EU can make use, and has made
use, of NATO?s planning and support to carry out its
operations.

And since December ? after, I admit, a rather testy
debate ? the EU?s planning capacity has been set up in
a way that is transparent and complementary to the
Alliance. I thanked the Prime Minister today for the
role he played in ensuring things worked out as they
should.

I believe firmly that this we have the right
blueprint. Of course, NATO remains the foundation of
our collective defence. But the EU is developing, and
will continue to develop as a security actor.

That is right. It makes sense. Our problem, as a
Euro-Atlantic community, is not that there are too
many security organisations seeking work.

On the contrary. There is, regrettably, more than
enough work to go around.

What we need is a stronger European pillar. More
effective capabilities. And more profound, trusting
co-operation between NATO and the EU. We have the
blueprint. What we have to do is turn it into action.

We will likely do that at the end of this year, in
Bosnia. Since 1995, NATO has kept the peace in Bosnia
and Herzegovina. And it has been a real success. From
the 60,000 troops we needed nine years ago, today we
need about one-tenth of that.

And soon, the security environment will have improved
to the point that we will be able to declare SFOR a
success, and bring the operation to an end.

Does this mean we are abandoning Bosnia? Not at all.

Because the EU has declared its willingness to deploy
a military operation into Bosnia after SFOR is
completed, likely by the end of this year. That
mission will operate under Berlin Plus.

In other words, NATO will provide its support to the
EU mission. And we are already in discussion with the
EU as to how that transition could take place.

NATO?s engagement in Bosnia will continue after SFOR
comes to an end, albeit in a different form. From then
on, the challenge for the Alliance will not be to keep
the peace. It will be to help Bosnia overcome the
hurdles holding it back from joining Partnership for
Peace.

My goal is to see those hurdles overcome.

I want to see Bosnia and Herzegovina join Partnership
for Peace. That is why we will keep a NATO presence in
Bosnia, even after SFOR has left, to assist the
government with defence reform and other important
tasks.

I would also like to see Serbia and Montenegro do more
to meet the requirements of PfP membership.

And for both countries, a key requirement for me, and
for NATO, is that they must cooperate with the
International Tribunal in the Hague.

It is absolutely vital that those indicted for war
crimes end up where they belong.

The Tribunal is within a stone?s throw of my house in
the Hague, where it would be easy for me to keep an
eye on Mr. Karadjic and Mr. Mladic.

I will insist on this condition for either country to
join PfP. Because only by sharing our most fundamental
values can countries also share in the benefits of
partnership.

PfP has become one of the most important tools NATO
has to shape security beyond our borders. And in a
globalised world, broader co-operation only makes
sense.

That logic is what drives perhaps the most important
partnership NATO has with any single country ? the
relationship with Russia.

One of the great strategic projects of the 21st
century is to bring Russia into Europe as a trusting
and trusted partner. The NATO-Russia Council, which is
where the NATO nations and Russia now sit together, as
equals, was created to build a true and trusting
relationship.

But it must be more than a talking shop. It must be a
forum where we discuss the real issues on our agenda,
whether or not we always agree. And that includes the
CFE Treaty, and Russia?s Istanbul commitments.

The only strong relationship is one that is open, and
which is built on common values. I am determined to
help build that relationship with Russia. And I hope
to do the same with Ukraine.

There is one further relationship which is garnering
an increasing amount of media attention these days:
the relationship between the West and what some are
calling the Greater Middle East.

I certainly believe that increasing dialogue and
co-operation across the Mediterranean is a good thing.
NATO?s Mediterranean Dialogue is based on that very
principle.

Some NATO governments are proposing that we beef up
the Med Dialogue, to include more concrete areas of
co-operation, including for example more military
exchanges.

Others are proposing more co-ordination between the
efforts of the EU, NATO and the US to promote reform
and democratisation in the region.

This discussion is still in its infancy. All I can say
for the moment is this: if NATO can play its part in
helping the countries of the Greater Middle East to
reform, as part of a broader international effort,
then how could we say no?

Over its first forty years, NATO proved to be the most
effective guarantor of the security of its members.
Over the past fifteen years, the Alliance has
demonstrated that it can export security as well.

Today, the Alliance is welcoming new democracies.
Building stronger partnerships. And running operations
in the Hindu Kush to preserve our peace, and our way
of life, here at home.

That is the organisation I took over five weeks ago.
My job is to reinforce that success. It is a job I
relish.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have said, from my first day in office, that I am an
Atlanticist at heart, but with a European vocation.

Few countries understand that dual orientation more
than this one. The United Kingdom has always been the
consummate bridge across the Atlantic, and no more so
than in past months and years.

I congratulate you on that role. It is as important
today as ever. We face great challenges, which can
only succeed if Europe and North America work
together. We are faced with grave threats, against
which we can only defend in partnership. To succeed,
we must do so together. In Alliance. Through NATO.

Thank you.







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