Transatlantic Focus:
A U.S. Foreign Policy Newsletter

Bush UNVEILS New Iraq Strategy

Bush Outlines New Strategy for Iraq  In a televised address to the American people January 10, President Bush announced the deployment of five additional U.S. Army brigades to Iraq to support Iraqi army operations in and around its capital, Baghdad, and two Marine brigades to Anbar province to assist in operations against al-Qaida. Bush said the deployment of more than 20,000 additional U.S. forces in support of an Iraqi plan to bring security “will change America’s course in Iraq, and help us succeed in the fight against terror.” The president said security is the “most urgent priority,” especially in Baghdad because 80 percent of the sectarian violence occurs within a 30-mile radius of the capital. more

Fact Sheet summarizing President Bush’s new strategy for Iraq The President's New Iraq Strategy Is Rooted In Six Fundamental Elements: 1. Let the Iraqis lead; 2. Help Iraqis protect the population; 3. Isolate extremists; 4. Create space for political progress; 5. Diversify political and economic efforts; and 6. Situate the strategy in a regional approach. Our enemies throughout the Middle East are trying to defeat us in Iraq. If we step back now, the problems in Iraq will become more lethal, and make our troops fight an uglier battle than we are seeing today. more

Bush Nominating New Ambassadors to the United Nations and Iraq The Bush administration announced its intention to nominate Zalmay Khalilzad, current U.S. ambassador to Iraq, to be its ambassador to the United Nations, and Ryan Crocker, ambassador to Pakistan, to succeed Khalilzad in Baghdad. more

Pentagon’s Gates Recommends Changes in U.S. Commanders for Iraq With President Bush preparing to make a major policy speech on Iraq on January 10, Defense Secretary Robert Gates set the stage by recommending two new U.S. military commanders for the region. more

NATO Partnerships

Credit NATO

Visit to NATO by Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan The Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe, visited NATO on Friday, 12 January 2007.  He met with the Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and with the North Atlantic Council. more

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia join NATO Partnership for Peace NATO gained three new partners on 14 December 2006, with the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia to the Alliance’s Partnership for Peace Program. more

Afghanistan

First Afghan doctors complete ISAF medical training program January 9, 2007 a ceremony was held for the first five Afghan doctors to complete a new ISAF medical training program run by the Greek hospital at Kabul International Airport. more

ISAF forces deliver military assistance to two villages in Panjawayi District  January 4, 2007 ISAF forces conducted military assistance operations in two village in the Panjawayi district as part of Operation Baaz Tsuka. ISAF conducted two shuras with local elders within the two respective villages to discuss concerns and security related issues. Afterwards, soldiers donated food, blankets, school supplies and tools to approximately 100 families in order to help prepare them for winter. more

credit ISAF

Transatlantic Dialogue

President Bush Welcomes Chancellor Merkel of Germany to the White House [...] This new year marks the beginning of Germany's presidency of both the EU and the G8. And we just had a wide-ranging discussion about a lot of issues. We talked about the Chancellor's ambitious agenda for both those leadership roles. We discussed how we can continue to work together to promote prosperity and security and peace. [...] more

White House Photo by Eric Draper

President Bush Welcomes European Commission President José Barroso to the White House [...] We just had a great discussion about the importance between -- of relations between the United States and the European Union. José has got a really important job and I think he's doing it really well. Our discussion was frank, it was open. We talked about the importance of the transatlantic relationship and how we can work to improve it. [...] more

White House Photo by Eric Draper

Iraqi Training

New Iraqi officers graduate On 28 December 2006, the Iraqi Military Academy, Ar Rustamiyah (IMAR) graduated 207 Second Lieutenants from the Academy’s senior course in a parade attended by senior Iraqi, NATO and Coalition personnel. Cadets were subject to a rigorous, but fair selection process at IMAR. more

Upcoming Events

January 26, 2007. Meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Foreign Ministers, Brussels. more

Transatlantic Focus: A U.S. Foreign Policy Newsletter
is published and distributed by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Mission to NATO - Brussels.