Austria

Austria bucks trend, votes to keep military conscription

Jorge Benitez — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:51:48 -0600

From Deutsche Welle: In a national referendum, Austrians have voted to keep military conscription, bucking the trend towards professional armies in the rest of Western Europe.

NATO inaugurates new HQ for allied special forces

Jorge Benitez — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 14:31:29 -0600

From John Vandiver, Stars & Stripes: NATO’s special operations community took up residence Wednesday in a new headquarters in Mons, Belgium, a $19 million facility expected to bolster how special forces from across the alliance plan for missions from Afghanistan to the Horn of Africa.

Europe's Naked Emperors

Julian Lindley-French — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:32:33 -0500

With a loose heritage that dates back to Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire Vienna is the quintessential post-imperial European city. Now the capital of a small but rich and modern European state it was once the epicenter of a vast multicultural, multi-ethnic empire that collapsed in 1918 under the weight of its own political hollowness. As a metaphor for modern Europe there can be no better.

New German general takes command of NATO in Kosovo

Jorge Benitez — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 08:39:48 -0500

From DPA: German General Volker Halbauer on Friday assumed command over the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR), a job he takes on as tensions between Serbia and its former province continue to simmer.

Armenia breaks diplomatic relations with Hungary over Safarov case

Jorge Benitez — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:12:59 -0500

From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Within hours of the pardon, Armenian President [Serzh] Sarkisian told an emergency meeting of that country's National Security Council that Hungary had made a "grave mistake," and soon after he announced the interruption in diplomatic ties.

NATO leaders and partners visit KFOR

Jorge Benitez — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 11:30:43 -0500

From NATO: On 11 July, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the ambassadors of all 28 NATO Allies visited KFOR, together with the ambassadors of partner countries which contribute to the mission.

We isolate and overload Germany at our peril

Jorge Benitez — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:56:35 -0500

From Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times: Of course, nobody questions modern Germany’s democratic credentials.

How NATO Can Revitalize Its Role

Jorge Benitez — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:10:19 -0500

From Fred Kempe, the New Atlanticist: As America’s willingness and capability to act unilaterally declines, any U.S. president will find himself increasingly drawn to NATO as an even more vital tool for foreign and defense policy