Blog Posts tagged with "Balkans"

This coming week, the 28 Ministers of Defense of the NATO alliance will gather in Brussels for meetings and discussions. They will be accompanied by another 22 Ministers from additional troop contributing nations in Afghanistan — in essence, the entire coalition will be represented.

NAC meeting in Defence Ministers session in June 2011.

As Supreme Allied Commander, one of my jobs is to brief the Ministers.

I’ll be talking about Afghanistan, but also about Libya, Kosovo, and several other key topics. It should be a busy and important week as our Secretary General, Anders Rasmussen, really begins the push toward the big NATO summit in late summer of 2012.

Adm Stavridis during his visit to Camp Ghazi, Afghanistan, watching NCO training, June 2011

On Afghanistan, I will present an honest picture of a challenging operation. My own sense is that we continue to make reasonable progress in the security sphere. I can tick off the indicators of progress, including topping 300,000 Afghan security forces trained and in the field; many key insurgents captured or killed; a successful transition to Afghan led security in 25% of Afghanistan, with a plan for another 25% in the coming months; 120,000 Afghan security personnel in literacy training to give a few examples.

There are, of course, challenges. Of note, recent attacks in Kabul (although deaths were very few, they achieved a great deal of publicity) and the assassination of Professor Rabbanni, who had led the reconciliation commission are setbacks. And the Haqanni network continues to be a thorn in the side of progress, as well as ongoing need to tackle corruption. So it is a mixed picture, but one that I would say shows progress toward our goal of turning over full transition to Afghan led security operations by the end of 2014.

In terms of Libya, the picture is reasonably good. Our missions of protecting civilians, conducting an arms embargo, and enforcing a no-fly zone are coming to a successful conclusion. When the last few Kaddaffy forces surrender, which I would anticipate within a few weeks at most, we will be prepared to recommend an end to NATO military operations.
When to conclude and under what criteria are of course political decisions, but I’m sure the Ministers will discuss that following my operational brief.

SACEUR during his visit to Kosovo, May 2011

As I look at the Balkans, I’m a bit worried by recent violence in the north. It is incumbent on all parties to work toward a peaceful, negotiated solution. Our NATO forces, ably led by German two-star General Erhard Dreves, will continue to preserve a safe and secure environment so that the EU can facilitate a peaceful dialog.

So it is a busy time around the alliance, with 160,000 Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen engaged in active service on three continents. I will do my best to present an honest, balanced, and coherent picture to the Ministers as they undertake the hard policy and political work of deciding how we go forward in our important work.

Best,
Jim

Admiral, USN
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
Commander, US European Command
“Stronger Together”

I attended a fascinating event on Friday night in Ankara: the change of command ceremony for the Chief of the Turkish General Staff, the senior military officer in Turkey.

My very close friend, General Ilker Basbug, was bringing to a conclusion two years as the Chief of Defense and more than 50 years in uniform. He was commissioned in 1962 and served a long and distinguished career, including postings outside of Turkey in Belgium and England, among others.

Admiral James Stavridis is greeted by Turkish Lieutenant General Yasar GGÃler,

He was relieved by General Isik Kosaner, another superb officer who has commanded at every level and holds a deep expertise in Special Operations, very useful given Turkey’s ongoing conflict with Kurdish separatist terrorists and much combat in southeastern Turkey.

When my plane touched down at the Etimesgut Air Base outside of Ankara, it was a sunny and hot late afternoon on the Anatolian plain. The timing was tight, and I made it to the ceremony with minutes to spare.

This was not a big parade field with units and bands marching – instead it was held in a new, modern and large auditorium at the headquarters of the Turkish General Staff. On a stage with two enormous flags of Turkey behind them, both General Basbug and General Kosaner spoke for more than 40 minutes each.

In attendance were the President, Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and many other leading civilian politicians. I had a chance to chat with each of them and thanked them for Turkey’s contributions to the NATO missions in Afghanistan and the Balkans.

They both acknowledged the vital importance of civilian control of the military, as well as the need for the Turkish Armed Forces to continue their role in protecting Turkey in a turbulent world.

General Basbug expressed frustration at the negative role the media has played in a variety of events in Turkey. He was very open and honest in his remarks. At one point in the evening he said, with a big smile on his face, “I have done my best, and I still have the energy of a Lieutenant.”

General Kosaner spoke at length about the geopolitical situation facing Turkey, saying a sentence or two about each of Turkey’s neighbors, from Iran (we need to solve the nuclear problem with diplomatic means) to Afghanistan (the comprehensive approach that protects civilians is key).

At the reception following the event, I was struck once again with the critical geopolitical importance of Turkey: an expanding population of over 70 million, the largest Army in NATO after the United States, a resilient economy, and a strategic location on both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

Seated with the Admiral Stavridis are Retired General and former Chief of Defense, Hilmi ÃzkkÃk and his spouse (right), Minister of Defense Vecdi GGÃnnÃl and his spouse (left).

We are lucky to have such a vital country as a friend and ally in NATO. Clearly we will disagree over a variety of issues, as we did recently in the Security Council over Iranian sanctions; but over time, the relationship with Turkey must remain strong and balanced.

Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

Official portrait of GEN Franciszek Gagor, Chief of Defense of the Polish Armed Forces.

I'm flying over the deep blue of the southern Pacific Ocean -- enroute to New Zealand and Australia for security discussions about Afghanistan -- and I've just learned of the death of Polish General and Chief of Defense Franciszek Gagor, along with the President of Poland and much of the senior leadership.

As I look down over the white caps of the sea, I think of my friend and the sudden nature of his death in a plane crash enroute to a memorial gathering near Smolensk, Russia in remembrance of 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre. What a tragic loss for his family, for Poland, and for the cause of security in the world.

Franciszek lived a full and meaningful life, and all of us at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe mourn his loss. He was not only a leader in his nation's military, but also a strong and highly respected voice in the councils of NATO.

I am greeted to Warsaw by the Polish Chairman of Defense General Franciszek Gagor in December of 2009.

He spoke fluent and idiomatic English, along with French and Russian and his native Polish of course. General Gagor was a powerful thinker, a diplomatic statesman, and a superb military leader. He had attended the National Defense University in the U.S. and we often spoke of the vital importance of education for our senior officers. He published many thoughtful
articles and a well regarded book on peacekeeping operations, in which he was widely respexcted as an expert.

Franciszek led much of the preparations for Poland's entry into NATO, and had served as a General officer since being promoted to Brigadier back in 1997. He was among the senior Chief's of Defense in the Alliance, and when he spoke in council, everyone listened closely.

Laura and I had a lovely visit with him and his wife Lucy just a few months ago in Warsaw, a week or so before Christmas. We walked the streets of the restored city, and his sense of history and the irony of it all was clear and deep. I'll always remember a light snow falling and thinking how lucky I was to know him -- a man of conviction, intelligence, and blessed with a fine sense of humor.

General Franciszek Gagor, Chairman of Defense of Poland, and I conduct a press conference in Warsaw.

The next day, we drank Bison vodka and sat in front of a fireplace after a formal dinner and he reflected on the passages of his life and career, from the post-war history of his beloved Poland to the Warsaw Pact and on to his role today as a leader in NATO. Personally, I deeply valued his advice on topics ranging from Afghanistan to the Balkans to NATO reform and the emerging strategic concept.

Franciszek Gagor represented the best of our senior military, and above my fireplace at home is the Polish cavalry sabre he gave me during our visit. I'll treasure it, as I do the memories of this great friend.

Admiral James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe

I spent two days in the Balkans last week, primarily focused on Kosovo, where NATO continues to deploy about 10,000 troops in support of UN resolutions to provide security and stability. The good news is that we are down from several times that number a few years ago, and in the nine months I’ve been Supreme Allied Commander Europe, we’ve been able to reduce from 15,000 – real progress.

Here I am posing with Bishop Theodosije at the Decani Monastery in Kosovo.

The two days I spent there last week were focused on travel around the entire country – mostly by Blackhawk helicopters – to see some of the most sensitive cultural sites in the Balkans. Of particular note was the monastery at Decani, built in the 1200s by the Serbian Orthodox Church and led today by Bishop Theodosije, a spiritual leader of 30 monks who continue to “tend their gardens” at this United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Cultural site. It is protected by NATO forces, and we will continue to ensure it is preserved.

I also had visits with the President of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu, and the Prime Minister, Hashim Thaçi. I learned a great deal from them, as we discussed a wide variety of topics of mutual interest, fom the security situation in Kosovo to the economy. Perhaps the greatest challenge to Kosovo is an unemployment rate of about 40 percent, and developing a stronger economy was very much on the minds of all the Kosovar leadership with whom I spoke.

The good cooperation between NATO, the EU, and the Kosovo Police and Security Forces has been noteworthy. I had a chance to observe a very impressive exercise conducted between the three entities against a mock “riot.” The three layers of response (Kosovo Police, EU, and NATO) reacted properly and smoothly. It is clear that coordination between the local forces and the two external agencies are going well, and we’ll continue to improve on it.

Kosovo President, Fatmir Sejdiu, and I got the chance to sit down and talk.

There is certainly plenty of controversy in the Balkans today, but when I think back a decade ago – massacres, murders, rapes, torture, war across borders – there has been enormous progress. Both Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo were sites of enormous anguish and disagreement, with hundreds of thousands of people dying in attempts at ethnic cleansing. Today, there is still disagreement about borders and the future, but very few are advocating violence as an approach. The Balkans stands as an example of the international community’s ability (including NATO) to bring and enforce peace solutions to disagreements. Much progress has been made, and I’m proud to be part of ensuring we don’t fall back.

As I flew over Kosovo's green fields, busy mines, and small houses, I reflected on the country's future. In the course of preparing for my visit, I read a remarkable short book, “The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo,” by Paula Huntley, where she shares her experience as an American teacher who taught English (using, among other books, “The Old Man and the Sea”) to young Kosovars from 2000-2001. In the end, the future of any place is all about young people with their energy, enthusiasm, and desire to improve the world. In that sense, I have high hopes for Kosovo.

Admiral James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe

Below is an interview I did during the visit. Thanks for watching and please comment!

As I told you in my last blog, I spent this past week on Capitol Hill. I testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction (HAC MILCON).

As you’d expect, our Congressional leadership asked insightful, important questions.

Sen. Joe Lieberman and myself having a discussion before the hearing. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly)

Throughout my three days on the Hill, I was asked to address a whole host of issues relevant to the European security environment and our NATO Alliance, including but not limited to our efforts in Afghanistan; the current environment in the Balkans; our relationship with Russia; missile defense; cyber security; U.S. force posture; and quality of life for US forces stationed in Europe.

I’ve addressed most of these issues in past blogs and will endeavor to touch on others in the months to come. As always and of no surprise to regular readers, I underscored with the Congress the importance of pursuing military objectives through international and interagency partnerships and a focus on strategic communication.

I encourage you to watch the hearings or read the statement prepared for the record, and to share with me any questions or reactions you may have.

Adm. Jim Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe

Last Friday I flew to my U.S. European Command (EUCOM) headquarters in Stuttgart to conduct an “All Hands” with the military and civilian personnel assigned to the headquarters at Patch Barracks. The flight from my NATO headquarters in Belgium was an airborne “sleigh ride,” and the landing a bit of a white knuckle experience. However, I really wanted to meet with the team and talk about the “way ahead” for 2010, share with them my perspective, and solicit their feedback.

Here I am addressing EUCOM military and civilian personnel during the All-Hands call.

Events like this are traditional throughout the military, and they afford the commander the chance to "reach-out" to colleagues and troops. Realistically, a command like EUCOM– with 200,000+ Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, civilians and family members – is too big to meet with everyone personally at once. But there are ways to use modern media to move the commander’s message, and this “All Hands” represented my first such engagement in the New Year.

We held the event in the Patch Fitness Center; it was a packed house, standing room only. I spoke from a boxing ring; it was the first time I’d been in a ring since Annapolis, which by the way was not an altogether good experience for me! However, this time my “ring experience” was much better.

Without going through everything, I covered four basic areas:

How pleased I am with EUCOM's performance over the last six months, and how happy I am with our general approach of civility, collegiality, coordination, and creativity.

The key activities ahead include continuing support to Afghanistan, improving relations with Russia, furthering cooperation with Turkey and Israel, strengthening relations in the Balkans, and continuing our focus on unexploded ordnance, missile defense, and counter-terrorism.

Some new (and not so new) ideas I want to focus on include strategic communication, social networking, establishment of a center for unexploded ordnance, and the creation of a task force for counter-narcotics cooperation.

And finally, along the lines of improving staff efficiency and effectiveness, I’ve asked our leaders to take a look at reorganizing our staff for better interagency and private-public cooperation, and above all, new approaches to international military partnering.

An important part of my message was partnering with NATO allies via my “other hat" of Supreme Allied Commander. Clearly, our NATO allies are working well with us in Afghanistan, the Balkans, on counter-piracy and counter-terrorism issues, and on Russian relations. EUCOM is an important part of making all of the above effective, and I talked about that as well.

I also had a chance to discuss the Behavioral “Bill of Rights,” which simply tells everyone in EUCOM that if they are having personal problems, please come forward – without fear of stigma or discrimination – to receive help and treatment from our colleagues, leaders and friends. I also recognized our wonderful Department of Defense “Teacher of the Year,” Susan Morris for her amazing award.

The most interesting question I received was from a shipmate who said, “You’ve told us what we’re doing right, and we appreciate it, Admiral. But where do we need to do better?” Great question. I said, “The two key places I am trying to improve personally, and where we all could improve to some extent, are simple: creativity and taking care of ourselves.”

In terms of creativity, the next decade will demand we think in unusual and new ways in order to combat the known and unknown threats and to meet the challenges we undoubtedly will face. In regards to improving personally, we all have a tendency to overdrive ourselves – so it’s important to take some leave and down-time, and hopefully use it to recharge and come back with a brand new idea we can pursue

All in all, it was a good session and the experience “in the boxing ring” was a big improvement over strapping on the gloves at Annapolis in the 1970s. However, that story is for another time. I flew back to Belgium pleased to have had the opportunity to reach-out to the command, and I look forward, more than ever, to a wonderful 2010.

Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

In a small wood-paneled ballroom at the glittering Adlon Hotel of Berlin, a parade of speakers celebrated what is called in German “die Mauerfall” --"the fall of the wall." It came in the 60th year of the NATO Alliance, and was hosted by the Atlantic Council.

The best speech of the night was from Hillary Clinton, who accepted a "Freedom's Challenge" award on behalf of the American people. As she spoke eloquently of all that the trans-Atlantic Alliance has meant over the years, I thought not of the past, but of the future. As Secretary Clinton said, essentially the fall of the wall was not the end of history, but the beginning. So true.

The other remarkable speech was from Vaclav Havel, the former President of Czechoslovakia and the leader of the "velvet revolution." Drawing on his novel, "The Magic Lantern," he spoke of the light shining anew through the lands of the east. Sitting in that ball room with Americans Henry Kissinger, Brent Scocroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski and their European counterparts from those days two decades ago, one felt indeed the power of the light of liberty.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (on behalf of the American people), German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (on behalf of the German people), Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowerite (on behalf of the German people), Former President of Poland Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel (in absentia), and myself (on behalf of NATO troops) accepting the 2009 Freedom Awards, presented by The Atlantic Council.

I was privileged to receive an award alongside Secretary Clinton -- for the NATO troops who had been a part of all that was achieved in ending the Cold War and helping bring about the fall of the wall. In a very brief set of remarks, I said that I was truly humbled by the privilege of accepting this award on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and civilians, past and present, upon whose shoulders rest the pillars of the trans-Atlantic bridge.

This is THEIR award, and I accepted it for them with pride for what they have done for the trans-Atlantic community over the past six decades and what they do today across the broad geographic stretch of NATO operations. German–American statesman and General, Carl Shurz, once remarked that “If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors.”

For 60 years, the NATO Alliance has endeavored to preserve the freedoms of its member nations and to encourage the spread of freedom to its neighbors.

I am speaking to the audience after receiving the Atlantic Council Freedom Award on behalf of NATO troops.

For the long decades of the Cold War, the men and women of NATO stood watch. They manned the lines. They flew and sailed on distant patrol. They protected us all. And their steady determination and dedication to what is best in us all – freedom, liberty, democracy, rule of law – in the end helped bring down this wall.

Steadily, the Alliance has since grown from 12 nations to 28, and today, those 28 nations are working together to build mutual security and develop a deep capacity for tackling together the complex security challenges we face.

Today, the men and women of NATO continue to reassure every member of this Alliance of the rock-hard guarantee of Article 5 – we are committed to each other and stronger together.

Today, the men and women of NATO can also be found far away in Afghanistan, where 65,000 of them are decisively engaged.
They can be found in the Balkans – most notably in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina – where they have stemmed the tide of violence and where more than 15,000 of them every day contribute to a safe and secure environment; And they can be found at sea where they demonstrate our resolve to protect us in the Mediterranean … and off the Horn of Africa where they safeguard those strategic waterways from piracy.

One of my most distinguished predecessors, U.S. Marine General Jim Jones, is a good friend and mentor. He said to me as I prepared to join the team at NATO, that this is the most successful Alliance in history. I agree with all my heart.

Our NATO Alliance endures and is strong today. We are adapting to a rapidly changing world. Our future is bright and our men and women are as steadfast in their resolve to safeguard our freedoms and promote liberty as prior generations have been over the past 60 years. This award recognizes their enduring achievements and serves as a symbol of all they pledge to NATO.

What a night to be in Berlin.

Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

It is autumn, harvest time here in southern Germany. People are celebrating what has been planted in the spring with fests in Munich, Stuttgart and even in smaller towns like Garmisch-Partenkirchen where I have been for the last three days.

Our EUCOM Interagency Group has also this week “harvested” something we “planted” in the spring. Then we conceived of an international, interagency partnering conference to be held at the George C Marshall Center in beautiful Garmisch. We wanted the conference to focus on the “3Ds” (Defense, Diplomacy and Development) collaborating and cooperating better together. You can see from the photo below that that idea bore fruit.

VADM Gallagher, EUCOM Deputy Commander, exchanges plaques with LTG Glatz, German Army, Commander of the Bundeswehr’s Operations.

George C. Marshall Center for European Studies, Garmisch, Germany –EUCOM’s International Interagency Symposium participants from 18 nations, EU and NATO.

We had the chance to listen to how select “example” nations do “whole of government” efforts, namely, Switzerland, Germany and the US. Their examples and offers of continued assistance were helpful in building “whole of government” capacity among participating nations from the Black Sea region (Turkey, Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Azerbaijan) and the western Balkans (Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina).

“There is no Development without Security. There is no Security without Development”. This phrase captured the complexity of ensuring coordination among all “3Ds” in a crisis area. I found the benefit of the symposium, as one participant noted, was that we were “talking to the other D’s, not about them”.

What were some of the key best practices that were “harvested”?

1. Conduct Joint civil-military training and exercising

2. Push for personnel exchanges between Departments

3. Create civilian stand –by expeditionary capacity

4. Strive for common strategies and shared goals

I think this partnering event produced a most important additional “D” – necessary “Dialogue”. Balkan and Black Sea states, the focus of the conference, admitted that they had a ways to go in terms of building up civilian capacities. They acknowledged that their focus for the past decade has been their militaries. They now want to answer NATO’s call for implementing a “Comprehensive Approach” and we may be able to help them with a civilian-oriented IMET–type program.

Harvest time in southern Germany gave us a chance this week to reap fruit for further collaboration and dialogue. Considering our security and stability challenges our conference participants believe there is no viable alternative to a “Comprehensive Approach”. We agreed that whole of government solutions are essential. As VADM Gallagher noted, by using them we are all “stronger together”.

Mr. Mike Anderson
GS-15, Deputy Director
Commander’s Interagency Engagement Group

Over a decade ago, the brilliant writer Robert Kaplan published an award-winning study of the long history of turmoil, racial and religious hatred, conquest, and war in the Balkans. His evocative title was perfect for his themes of historical enmity and bitterness: Balkan Ghosts.

Speaking with Brig. Gen. Drazen Scuri after arriving in Croatia.

As I fly back from a three day visit of the region, I certainly had ample opportunity to see firsthand all that he describes; yet today, there seems to me to be real hope in the region for cooperation and security alignment, perhaps for the first time in the more than two millenniums of recorded history.

I’ve now visited the Balkans several times in both my NATO and U.S. European Command (EUCOM) hats.

My first stop was Kosovo, where we have 15,000 NATO troops leading a peace support operation. Things there continue to go quite well, and we are in the process of reducing the forces on the ground to 10,000 by January 2010. We’ll look for opportunities as next year unfolds to reduce even further.

A Polish Special operations assault team dashes to the rear of an U.S. Army MH-47 helicopter during fast rope insertion/extraction system training during Exercise Jackal Stone 09 in Croatia.

Last week, I went to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where I presided over the conclusion of a 39-nation, EUCOM-sponsored communications exercise called Combined Endeavor 2009. Bosnia and Herzegovina was the host for this remarkable display of connectivity and cooperation. The tri-partite Presidents, representing the three key ethnic groups in the country, came together to celebrate the event making it a success on many levels.

A couple of days ago, I visited Croatia, where a special operation forces exercise with 10 nations and more than a thousand soldiers was in full swing. I rode out to sea in a U.S. Army helicopter with a Croatian Vertical Insertion Team, and then flew up north to the exercise control center. There I saw representatives from each nation doing practice hostage rescue, boarding at sea, direct action, intelligence gathering – all in a seamless spirit of international military partnering.

With Montenegro's Speaker of the Parliament, Ranko Krivokapic.

And finally, I visited Montenegro, a small and newly independent country on the Adriatic Sea. Above the beautiful and historic Bay of Korta, I joined the leadership of five Adriatic Charter nations discussing mutual support in the event of natural disasters. The mood of the conference was upbeat, and I departed very optimistic about the future.

Old ghosts die hard – especially in the Balkans. But, if a ghost is something that haunts our past, I am starting to believe not in Balkan ghosts, but rather in Balkan dreams – dreams of a region that truly works together in peaceful ways and is moving into a far brighter future.

Admiral James G. Stavridis
Commander
U.S. European Command