Category: Intl Security

KOSOVO: Smart Power Success Story

NATO in KOSOVO.

NATO has been leading a peacekeeping operation in Kosovo since June 1999 in support of wider international efforts to build peace and stability in Kosovo.

NATO currently has approximately 15,900 KFOR troops deployed in Kosovo to help maintain security and stability for all citizens, irrespective of their ethnic origin.

KFOR contributing nations and troop numbers (as on 4 February 2008)

Transfer of Authority – Multi-National Task Force East, Kosovo Force (KFOR).

The U.S. Army has been at the core of KFOR since its deployment in the wake of the allied air campaign in June 1999. KFOR initially provided a deterrent to renewed hostility and threats against Kosovo by Serb and Yugoslav forces, established a secure environment and ensured public safety and order, demilitarized the Kosovo Liberation Army, supported the international humanitarian effort, and coordinated with and supported the international civil presence.

Typically, there are three categories of change: maintain/sustain the existing system/processes, incremental improvement and radical/re-design.

Kosova represents a transition from the “re-design” to the maintain/sustain category.

Ambassador Recalled

Ambassador To Russia Recalled, (New York Times)…Anne Barnard, New York Times
July 11, 2008, Pg. 8

Georgia recalled its ambassador to Russia for consultations after the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that a Russian military aircraft had flown over a breakaway, pro-Moscow region of Georgia this week. The flight, and Georgia’s response, further escalated tensions between Russia and Georgia, a former Soviet republic, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.

Iraq IEDs – New Variant

New Flying IEDs Being Used In Iraq
(CNN)…Barbara Starr, July 10, 2008

Last month here in Baghdad’s Adamiyah neighborhood, 18 civilians were killed and 29 wounded when a large explosion rocked the neighborhood — one of the latest examples of yet another type of bomb being used by insurgents — improvised rocket assisted mortars or I-RAMs.

… With these, insurgents line the back of trucks with launch tubes. Using Iranian-made rocket charges, they propel cylinders full of explosives, like mortar and tank shells, sometimes over walls more than 20 feet high — the type surrounding U.S. bases.

Iraq Army and Police: Ready in 2009

U.S. General: Iraqi Forces To Be Fully Ready In ’09
(Washington Post)…Ann Scott Tyson and Dan Eggen, July 10, 2008, Pg. 1

Iraq’s army and police will be fully manned and operational by mid-2009, possibly as early as April, the top U.S. general in charge of building Iraqi security forces said yesterday, signaling the prospect that Iraqi forces could assume primary combat responsibilities in the country while U.S. troops shift to a supporting role.

Iran: Reaction

Iran Reports Missile Test, Drawing Rebuke
(New York Times)…Alan Cowell and William J. Broad

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards test-fired nine missiles in war-game maneuvers on Wednesday, including at least one the government in Tehran described as having the range to reach Israel.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters the world is not closer to a military confrontation, even though Iran’s missile launch came just days after Israel conducted a high-profile military exercise in the Mediterranean. “What we’re seeing is a lot of signaling going on,” he said, adding that both Israel and Iran “understand [the] consequences” of military action.

Space: Competition, Dual-use

U.S. Finds It’s Getting Crowded Out There
(Washington Post)…Marc Kaufman, July 9, 2008, Pg. 1

…Although the United States remains dominant in most space-related fields — and owns half the military satellites currently orbiting Earth — experts say the nation’s superiority is diminishing, and many other nations are expanding their civilian and commercial space capabilities at a far faster pace.

In a recent in-depth study of international space competitiveness, the technology consulting firm Futron of Bethesda found that the globalizing of space is unfolding more broadly and quickly than most Americans realize. “Systemic and competitive forces threaten U.S. space leadership,” company president Joseph Fuller Jr. concluded.

Joan Johnson-Freese, a space and national security expert at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, said the United States has been so determined to maintain military space dominance that it is losing ground in commercial space uses and space exploration.

“Other nations are falling over each other to work together in space; they want to share the costs and the risks,” she said. “Because of the dual-use issue, we really don’t want to globalize.”

Iraq: Positive trends – troop reductions

Gates Optimistic That Iraq Troop Cutbacks Will Continue, (Yahoo.com)…Agence France-Presse Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed optimism Tuesday that US troop cutbacks will continue in Iraq, saying the transition of control to Iraqi security forces was going well.

Iraq Wants Withdrawal Timetable In U.S. Pact
(Washington Post)…Ernesto Londono and Dan Eggen. Iraq’s national security adviser said Tuesday that his government would not sign an agreement governing the future role of U.S. troops in Iraq unless it includes a timetable for their withdrawal.

Army: Biometrics

Biometrics: The Army as Executive Agent for the Department of Defense

Biometrics are measurable physical and behavioral characteristics that enable the establishment and verification of an individual’s identity. Once established, a biometric identity can be used to regulate individual access to DOD services and resources or to deny a criminal or adversary the ability to hide his true identity by stripping away anonymity with swift, accurate, and definitive identity verification.

Biometrics are key to intelligence and security efforts in the war on terrorism. The ability to establish an individual’s identity with certainty and link the individual to past aliases or activities gives our Soldiers a decisive edge in fighting the war on terrorism and aiding other U.S. government organizations. In addition, biometrics add a layer of security and a method of identity verification when accessing DOD and federal government spaces by further automating the identification process and increasing speed of entry.

Partnership for Iraq

The Wrong Partnership For Iraq, (Washington Post)…Bill Delahunt and Rosa DeLauro, July 8, 2008, Pg. 15

The June 15 editorial ” A Partnership For Iraq” criticized Democrats in Congress for opposing the proposed long-term military agreement between the United States and Iraq that would replace the U.N. mandate under which U.S. forces are fighting. The editorial called the agreement a way of “countering Iran’s attempt to dominate the Middle East.” We have examined this issue for many months and believe that The Post’s position is badly misguided.

…We have proposed an alternative that would serve our interests and those of the Iraqis far better: extending the U.N. mandate in Iraq for six months, as has been done before, so that the new president and Congress can work with Iraq’s leaders to determine the next agreement.

It is time for everyone to slow down. We should extend the U.N. mandate for a short period to maintain the status quo and ultimately turn this issue over to the next president and Congress, who must implement any agreement. Rather than dictating the terms of our long-term relationship with Iraq, such a policy would allow us to work with Iraqis to craft an agreement that includes the carefully coordinated withdrawal of U.S. combat forces that majorities in both countries support. Doing so would also solidify the type of sustainable partnership that the people of the United States and Iraq need and deserve.