NATO

Stories 441 - 460 | << Prev   Next >>

Bush Pledges More Troops for Afghanistan

Gates confident new administration will honor promise to NATO

(Newser) - The US will boost the number of its troops committed to NATO's effort in Afghanistan in 2009, President Bush told fellow alliance members at this week's summit, Reuters reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates related the pledge to reporters as he left the Bucharest summit. He didn’t specify a figure,...

NATO Sides With Bush on Missile Defense Plan
NATO Sides With Bush on Missile Defense Plan
UPDATED

NATO Sides With Bush on Missile Defense Plan

But alliance leaders won't back US on inviting Ukraine, Georgia

(Newser) - NATO today backed a plan by President Bush to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, the New York Times reports, but would not go along with encouraging Ukraine and Georgia to pursue membership in the alliance. Both steps had been opposed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is...

NATO Bars Former Soviet States in Blow to US

Ukraine, Georgia, Macedonia blocked

(Newser) - In a blow to the US, a divided NATO has refused to permit membership bids by former Soviet states Georgia and the Ukraine. The decision is an indication that Europe is wary of antagonizing an increasingly belligerant Russia, Bloomberg reports. Germany and France led the opposition to membership. In another...

Bush Asks NATO for More Afghanistan Troops

President sets agenda ahead of NATO summit

(Newser) - George W. Bush urged his NATO allies to join Romania and France in committing more troops to the war in Afghanistan. “We cannot afford to lose in Afghanistan,” he said. “Whatever the cost, however difficult…we must win.” The speech comes ahead of a major NATO...

Bush Backs Ukraine's NATO Bid
 Bush Backs Ukraine's NATO Bid 

Bush Backs Ukraine's NATO Bid

President's support sure to irk Russia

(Newser) - President Bush today declared his unequivocal support for the entry of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO, a position sure to anger Russia, Reuters notes. “Your nation has made a bold decision, and the United States strongly supports your request,” Bush said, flanked by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. But...

Moscow Warns NATO Not to 'Play With Fire'

But US backs bids by Georgia and Ukraine to join alliance

(Newser) - Moscow urged NATO today not to absorb ex-Soviet republics Georgia and Ukraine, Reuters reports. "It's a dangerous game to play with fire," said Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov, who warned that Russia's military ties with NATO were at stake. His remarks come days before a NATO summit in Bucharest,...

NATO Escorts Russian Bombers Away From Alaska

Jets buzz US airspace

(Newser) - Two bombers from the Russian air force flew uncomfortably close to American territory as they patrolled neutral space off the coast of Alaska, Reuters reports. NATO forces deployed several jets to escort the Russian planes away. The incident is yet another case of the Russian military resuming the Soviet-era practice...

Medvedev Warns Against NATO Plans
Medvedev Warns Against NATO Plans

Medvedev Warns Against NATO Plans

Russia unhappy about bid to accept former Soviet states

(Newser) - Dmitry Medvedev has warned former Soviet states not to join NATO, claiming that their membership would threaten the stability of the region. Georgia and Ukraine are angling to join the military alliance and have received strong support from the US. But in an interview with the Financial Times, Russia's incoming...

Afghans Protest Cartoons, Film
 Afghans Protest Cartoons, Film 

Afghans Protest Cartoons, Film

Angry crowds chant death to Danish, Dutch

(Newser) - Thousands of Afghan protesters burned Dutch and Danish flags yesterday in a protest against a Danish cartoon and a Dutch film said to insult Islam. They called for the Dutch and Danish embassies to be closed and for their troops serving with NATO in the country to be expelled, Reuters...

UN Cop Killed in Kosovo Riots
 UN Cop Killed in Kosovo Riots 

UN Cop Killed in Kosovo Riots

More than 100 injured as Serbs battle UN, NATO with guns and grenades

(Newser) - A Ukrainian UN police officer has been killed and at least 40 UN or NATO personnel were injured as Serbs continued to exchange gunfire with NATO and UN forces, reports AFP. Some 70 Serbs were also wounded as yesterday's fighting in ethnically charged Mitrovica spilled over to today, including a...

Scores Feared Dead in Albanian Explosions

Aged ammunition supply bunker blows; human error possible cause

(Newser) - A series of massive explosions rocked an Albanian army base today, where teams were working to dismantle obsolete Soviet-era munitions, Reuters reports. More than 170 were injured, with at least four confirmed dead. “We do not know the exact number” of casualties, said the prime minister, “but we...

Afghanistan Is Out of Control: Intel Chief

Karzai controls just 30% of country, Taliban 10%, tribal leaders the rest

(Newser) - The 6-year NATO campaign in Afghanistan is failing, the US intelligence chief told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. Mike McConnell said Harmid Karzai’s US-backed government controls only about 30% of the country, with the Taliban holding another 10%, and the rest under tribal rule. Security, meanwhile, is...

Turkey Pulls Out of N. Iraq
Turkey Pulls Out of N. Iraq

Turkey Pulls Out of N. Iraq

Says it made its point to the PKK

(Newser) - Turkey pulled its troops out of northern Iraq today, ending a controversial offensive that had Washington and Baghdad on edge, Reuters reports. In a statement, Turkey said it had made its point. “There was no question of completely liquidating” the PKK, the military said, “but Turkey has shown...

NATO Seals Kosovo Borders
NATO Seals Kosovo Borders

NATO Seals Kosovo Borders

Troops called in after mobs burn border posts

(Newser) - NATO peacekeepers have sealed off Kosovo's northern borders after angry mobs torched border posts, the BBC reports. US troops have blocked the main road to Serbia, and French and Estonian troops have cut off the crossing to Montenegro. The move is bound to infuriate Serbs both in Kosovo and Serbia,...

New Afghan Bombing Kills 37
New Afghan Bombing Kills 37

New Afghan Bombing Kills 37

Target was a NATO convoy

(Newser) - Terrorists targeting a Canadian NATO convoy today in southern Afghanistan killed at least 37 when they detonated a massive car bomb in a crowded marketplace, the Guardian reports. At least 30 more were wounded, including three soldiers. Like yesterday’s bombing, which claimed 100 lives and was the deadliest since...

Putin Defies Critics in Last Bow
Putin Defies Critics in Last Bow

Putin Defies Critics in Last Bow

Russian leader underlines post-presidency designs on power, spars with West

(Newser) - Today may have been Vladimir Putin’s final press conference as Russia's president, but he made it clear he won’t be going far, the New York Times reports. Putin said he would remain a force in the Kremlin, as “there’s enough power to go 'round,” Bloomberg...

Gates Asks Europe for More Afghan Troops

Says Iraq-weary Euros underestimate threat of unstable Afghanistan

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates appealed today to European allies to send more troops to Afghanistan, saying in Munich that the "threat posed by violent Islamic extremism is real" and that NATO's credibility in combating it is at stake, Reuters reports. France has indicated it could send more troops,...

NATO Faces a Split Over Afghanistan

US says alliance could become 'two-tiered' unless others pull their weight

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that NATO risks splitting into a "two-tiered alliance" because some members aren't willing to pull their weight in Afghanistan. The vast majority of the fighting against the Taliban in the country is done by Canadian, British, American and Dutch troops, and those...

Germany Balks at US Request for Troop Help

Call for reinforcements in southern Afghanistan outside 'point of focus'

(Newser) - Germany has rejected a request from US defense secretary Robert Gates for more troops to fight the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan, Der Spiegel reports. German defense minister Franz Josef Jung prefers his troops remain in the country's north, in accordance with Germany's Afghanistan mandate—which says troops will only...

US Wants More NATO Troops for Afghan War

US calls on NATO allies for reinforcements

(Newser) - The US will pressure its NATO allies to commit more troops to Afghanistan, Reuters reports, but won't send more Americans, beyond the 3,200-Marine surge ordered last month. The need for increased manpower in the 6-year-old conflict resurfaced this week when Canada's prime minister threatened to withdraw his nation's 2,...

Stories 441 - 460 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser