Missile Defense

Russian Officer Convicted of Spying for CIA

Jorge Benitez — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:59:26 -0600

From the AP: A military court on Friday convicted a Russian officer of providing the CIA with secret information on Russia's new intercontinental ballistic missiles and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

Lt. Col. Vladimir Nesterets pleaded guilty to passing on that classified information in exchange for money, said the Federal Security Service, the main agency that replaced the KGB.

The agency said Nesterets committed treason as he worked as a senior engineer at the Plesetsk launch pad in northwestern Russia, a facility the military uses to launch satellites and test its new missile systems.

The security service's terse statement did not say when Nesterets had been arrested or give any further details about his case. . . .

Earlier this week, Putin's protege, President Dmitry Medvedev, praised the Federal Security Service for exposing 41 foreign intelligence officers and 158 of their agents last year. (graphic: Russia Today)

Can Germany Summon the Will to Lead?

Jorge Benitez — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:52:57 -0600

From John Vincour, the International Herald Tribune: Mr. Putin’s goal is not only to paint an American-led enemy in time for next month’s vote, but to get the West to back off on Iran and on deployment of NATO’s missile shield in Europe through threats and by sowing the notion that America is shoving its friends into confrontations they don’t need.

Germany counts enormously here. It has the West’s biggest economic hold on Russia and, historically, a (sometimes delusional) vision of the two countries’ potential for a golden destiny together. With Germany having gained in power and influence through its appearance of rigor and solidity, if not flexibility, during Europe’s debt misfortunes, the issue now is how assertive Ms Merkel wants to be in naming Mr. Putin’s game. If she chooses to lead, she will make clear that a review of relations with Russia is under way, that its election procedures will be under intense scrutiny, and that in prolonging the extermination of thousands of people by a regime armed by Russia, Mr. Putin will find only contempt in Germany.

The occasion and the urgency are there. The alternative is a Germany seeking to hide behind a comfortable default position as an above-the-fray go-between. It would be a sign of the West’s weakness and a failure of German political instinct.

The precedents and current indicators of a demonstration of German resolve are not terrific: When the heat was on in Libya this spring, Ms. Merkel’s Germany turned its back on France, Britain and the United States, and — abstaining alongside Russia and China — refrained from standing with its allies in approving Security Council intervention. . . . .

Ultimately, Germany, now supposedly leading Europe, faces the question of how much responsibility it wants to take concerning the world’s most jagged political issues. To me, the West seems at a point when a heavy injection of German political courage could make a greater contribution to its role in world stability than Germany’s austerity-for-all economic vision. . . .

So, what are the odds on Ms. Merkel, in a position of rare influence, saying something true and meaningful now about the implications of the awful behavior of Mr. Putin and what to do about the reality of his return to the Russian presidency?

I asked John Kornblum, a former U.S. ambassador and a keen observer of Germany, what he thought of the likelihood of a new kind of German commitment to leadership beyond economics (although the massive trade imbalances favoring Germany are a root factor in Europe’s debt and deficit grief).

“The Germans take more responsibility?,” Mr. Kornblum asked, as if having to field the dumbest question of the week. “They’ll run from it.” (photo: Reuters)

Panetta: 'Our military footprint in Europe will remain larger than in any other region in the world'

Jorge Benitez — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:46:57 -0600

From Leon Panetta, U.S. Department of Defense: For Europe, the U.S. defense strategy reaffirms the lasting strategic importance of the transatlantic partnership with the United States. Although it will evolve in light of strategic guidance and the resulting budget decisions, our military footprint in Europe will remain larger than in any other region in the world. That’s not only because the peace and prosperity of Europe is critically important to the United States, but because Europe remains our security partner, our security partner of choice for military operations and diplomacy around the world. We saw that in Libya last year and we see it in Afghanistan every day. . . .

I believe that today’s strategic and fiscal realities offer NATO the opportunity to build the alliance we need for the 21st century, an alliance that serves as the core of an expanding network of partnerships across the globe in support of common security objectives. But it is an alliance that remains rooted in the strong bonds of transatlantic security cooperation and collective defense.

Let me lay out how we intend to strengthen transatlantic security cooperation by describing what European allies and partners can expect from the United States and our new defense strategy. First, we will focus on the most pressing security challenges by investing in ballistic missile defense capability for Europe in response to the emerging threats beyond Europe.

As part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach and NATO’s missile defense capability, we have established a radar system in Turkey. We will be stationing SM-3 missiles in Romania and Poland. And we will deploy four BMD – ballistic missile defense-capable ships, Aegis ships to Rota, Spain. President Obama has made clear that the United States is firmly committed to building a missile defense system in Europe. The new defense strategy and our budget priorities reflect that commitment.

Second, we will invest in shared capabilities that will ensure NATO remains the strongest and most capable military alliance on earth. To address intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance shortfalls, some of which the Libya operation exposed, NATO has agreed as of yesterday to fund the new Alliance Ground Surveillance system. . . .

Third, we will employ innovative approaches to strengthen security cooperation, even as we reduce the numbers of U.S. troops and dependents that are permanently stationed in Europe. We will maintain two brigades garrisoned in Europe in addition to moving forward with the missile defense deployments that I’ve already detailed, establishing an aviation detachment in Poland and taking steps to enhance the responsiveness of special operations forces in the region.

As we reduce the end strength of our land forces overall, we will remove two heavy, fixed brigades that are currently garrisoned in Europe – two brigades that, I might point out, have spent most of their time in the war zone and not here. We selected these legacy brigades for transition because they are the least adaptive to the complex challenges we face and we expect to face alongside our European partners.

We made this decision only after ensuring that our force posture adjustments will not weaken our ability to meet our commitment to the security of Europe or our Article 5 responsibilities.

Today, I can announce that the United States will make a new commitment to the security of our NATO partners by reinvigorating our contribution to the NATO Response Force that we value so much. The NRF was designed to be an agile, rapidly deployable, multinational force that can respond to crises when and where necessary. The United States had endorsed the NRF but has not made a tangible contribution due to the demands of the wars – until now.

In the coming months, we will identify a U.S.-based brigade from which we will provide the United States land force contribution to the NATO Response Force, and we will rotate a battalion-sized task-force to Germany for exercises and training. Not only will this open up new opportunities for U.S. troops to train and exercise with our European counterparts, it will ensure NATO has the capability to conduct expeditionary operations in defense of our common interests. But to fully realize the goal of a strong and agile NRF, we need the support of other Alliance members.

Excerpts from remarks by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at the 48th Munich Security Conference. (photo: Getty)

NATO Will Switch On Its (Tiny) Missile Shield in May

Jorge Benitez — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:14:21 -0600

From Spencer Ackerman, Danger Room: Starting in May, Europe will have the beginning of an operational shield against ballistic missiles, courtesy of NATO.

The system will be modest at first, not much more than SM-3 interceptor missiles aboard the U.S.S. Monterrey, a ship enabled with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system and stationed in the Mediterranean. It’ll be aided by an early-warning radar system Turkey’s hosting at its Kurecik base.

But together, they form what a senior NATO official told reporters on Wednesday was an “interim capability” to stop incoming missiles — the first, ever, in Europe. NATO will formally announce it in May at its big summit in Chicago, and when defense chiefs meet here on Thursday, they’ll get updated on its progress.

There’s a long, long way to go in what the Obama administration calls its “phased adaptive” approach to the Euro missile shield. The SM-3 interceptors aboard the Monterrey — the first of many such ships headed to the Med — can only stop short- to intermediate-range missiles. (NATO would not disclose the exact range for the “interim” shield.) It will take years to add even the entire easternmost parts of the continent to the shield — the “phased” part of “phased adaptive” — as its first ground-based anti-missile missiles, which will be hosted in Romania, won’t be operational until 2015. And the shield won’t be able to stop intercontinental ballistic missiles until 2020, if everything goes according to plan. (photo: U.S. Navy)

NATO missile shield to be based in Germany: diplomat

Jorge Benitez — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:40:30 -0600

From Deutsche Welle: NATO plans to set up the command center for its missile shield at the US military base Ramstein, a diplomatic source said Thursday.

Speaking in Brussels on condition of anonymity, the diplomat said the command center was planned for the Ramstein Air Base, located in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. . . .

The missile shield is expected to be fully operational by 2018. (graphic: NATO)

NATO will settle for political declaration instead of concrete Smart Defense projects at Chicago Summit

Jorge Benitez — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:13:46 -0600

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO: I hope we will be in a position to adopt a political declaration on smart defence as a framework, as a political framework, for, I would call it a new way of doing business, in the coming years. It's a concept focused on more multinational cooperation. We simply can't continue to do business as usual.

And I would like to stress this is not just about a period of economic austerity. It's a long-term challenge, because we have seen rapidly increasing prices of high-tech military equipment.

So in the future we will see that individual Allies can't afford to acquire expensive military equipment, but by pooling and sharing resources they will be able to acquire such equipment.

So it's a new concept of doing defence business, so to speak.

So I hope a political declaration can create the political framework. In that political declaration I also hope to see a political commitment to a number of concrete projects. It's a bit premature today to announce such specific projects, but as an indication I can tell you that I see missile defence as an excellent example of smart defence, because missile defence is an example of a multinational project where a number of Allies provide input, notably, of course, the United States, but also a number of European Allies will provide input. A number of them have already announced that they will host missile defence facilities. So missile defence is actually a prime example of smart defence.

Furthermore, I could mention air policing as an example of smart defence. At a certain stage we will have to make a decision on more long-term arrangement of air policing in the Baltic states, and air policing is, again, an excellent example of smart defence, because a number of Allies do air policing on behalf of the Baltic states, and in exchange the Baltic states can focus their defence investments on, for example, deployable armed forces that can participate in international operations, instead of investing heavily in an air force to do air policing.

Again, we see an example of role specialization, which is an integrated element in smart defence.

So I think smart defence will be a combination of a number of concrete multinational projects, and a long-term political vision of how to do defence business in the future.

Excerpt from remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at press conference, January 26, 2012. (photo: Getty)

Secretary General's Annual Report: 'For NATO, 2011 was one of the busiest years ever'

Jorge Benitez — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:57:14 -0600

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO: Many will remember 2011 as a year of austerity. But it has also been a year of hope. The international community united in its responsibility to protect. Much of the Arab world took a new path forward. And the European Allies showed they were willing and able to lead a new NATO operation.

For NATO, 2011 was one of the busiest years ever. From Libya to Afghanistan and Kosovo, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, the Alliance was committed to protecting its populations and active in upholding its principles and values. We enabled the Afghan security forces to start taking the lead for security for over half of the Afghan population. We successfully concluded our training mission which has contributed to improving Iraq’s security capacity. 2011 was also a benchmark year for reforms. We took significant steps to further streamline our structures, enhance our effectiveness and reduce our costs. At the same time, we strengthened our capabilities in many areas, including the prevention of cyber attacks. And we enhanced our connectivity by increasing cooperation with our partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic area, the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, as well as with many other countries across the globe. This is a transatlantic Alliance that, despite the economic crisis, has once again demonstrated its commitment, capability and connectivity.

In 2011, our new Strategic Concept was put to the test. This report – the first of its kind – shows that we successfully met that test.

At the start of the year, few would have imagined NATO would be called to protect the people of Libya. But on 31 March, NATO took swift action on the basis of the historic United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. We saved countless lives. And seven months later, we successfully completed our mission. When I visited Tripoli on 31 October, Chairman Jalil of the National Transitional Council told me, “NATO is in the heart of the Libyan people.”

Operation Unified Protector was one of the most remarkable in NATO’s history. It showed the Alliance’s strength and flexibility. European Allies and Canada took the lead; the United States provided critical capabilities; and the NATO command structure unified all those contributions, as well as those of our partners, for one clear goal. In fact, the operation opened a completely new chapter of cooperation with our partners in the region, who called for NATO to act and then contributed actively. It was also an exemplary mission of cooperation and consultation with other organizations, including the United Nations, the League of Arab States, and the European Union. Throughout, NATO proved itself as a force for good and the ultimate force multiplier.

These achievements give me great confidence as I look forward to 2012. Clearly, economic challenges are likely to remain a dominant factor and decisions taken today may shape our world for decades to come. Our task is to make sure we emerge stronger, not weaker, from the crisis we all face. But we can draw great strength from an enduring source: the indivisibility of security between North America and Europe. NATO is a security investment that has stood the test of time for over six decades and continues to deliver real returns for all Allies, year after year.

2012 will be marked by our Chicago Summit in May. This will be an opportunity to renew our commitment to the vital transatlantic bond between us and to redouble our efforts to share the burden of security more effectively. We will take important decisions to keep NATO committed, capable and connected.

Afghanistan remains by far our largest operation, with over 130,000 troops as part of the broadest coalition in history. 50 Allies and partners are determined to ensure the country will never again be a base for global terrorism. Afghanistan is moving into the right direction and transition to Afghan security lead is on track to be completed by the end of 2014. As Afghan security forces grow more confident and capable, our role will continue to evolve into one of support, training and mentoring. But the Chicago Summit will show our commitment to a long-term partnership with Afghanistan, together with the whole international community, beyond 2014.

At Chicago, we will also take measures to improve our capabilities. During our operation in Libya, the United States deployed critical assets, such as drones, precision-guided munitions and air-to-air refuelling. We need such assets to be available more widely among Allies. In the current economic climate, delivering these expensive capabilities will not be easy. But it can be done, and it is critical if we are to respond effectively to the challenges of the future. The answer lies in what I call “smart defence”: doing better with less by working more together. In Chicago, we will deliver real “smart defence” commitments, so that every Ally can contribute to an even more capable Alliance.

NATO’s missile defence system to defend European Allies’ populations, territory and forces against the growing threat of ballistic missile proliferation is “smart defence” at its best and it embodies transatlantic solidarity. We have already made considerable progress. Along with a prominent and phased US contribution, a number of Allies have made significant announcements, including Turkey, Poland, Romania, Spain, the Netherlands and France. These different national contributions will be gradually brought together under a common NATO command and control system. Key elements of it have already been tested successfully and I expect the initial components of the system to be in place by the time of the Chicago Summit.

NATO has invested heavily in its network of partnerships. Continued NATO-Russia cooperation is vital for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area and the wider world. Twenty-two partner countries have troops or trainers on the ground in Afghanistan. And our successful operation to protect the people of Libya could not have taken place without the political and operational support of our partners in the region and beyond. At Chicago, we will recognize the contribution made by our partners who are willing and able to share the security burden with us.

Chicago is about delivering important commitments. Personal commitment, too, has been key to the Alliance’s success. Dedicated civilian and military staff are working in operational theatres and in headquarters to protect our 900 million citizens. They work under demanding and dangerous conditions. This report is a tribute above all to their sacrifice, bravery, and professionalism.

Excerpt from Secretary General’s Annual Report 2011. (photo: NATO)

NATO ambassador previews Chicago summit

Jorge Benitez — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:42:08 -0600

From Paisley Dodds, the AP: The U.S. Ambassador to NATO said Monday one of the key goals of an upcoming summit is to ensure the alliance is prepared for new threats - comments that came as Iran threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz in response to an EU oil blockage.

United States, British and French ships were recently spotted on the strait where a fifth of the world's crude oil is transported, but Ambassador Ivo Daalder said Monday it was not a NATO flotilla. . . .

President Barack Obama is hosting the NATO summit in his hometown of Chicago in May. NATO leaders will look at military strategy throughout 2014, funding issues and how to boost the alliance's capability - both in intelligence gathering and through its missile defense system.

Daalder stressed Monday that a plan to place missile interceptors in Europe was designed to protect against threats from the Middle East - not Russia. Russia has threatened to pull out of a treaty designed to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals if NATO moves forward with the plan.

"We would like to do this in cooperation with Russia, but we will do it even if we can't find a way to cooperate," he said.

He also said NATO was seeking ways to boost its intelligence and surveillance power - weaknesses exposed during the Libya air operation.