Transatlantic Focus:
A U.S. Foreign Policy Newsletter

NATO FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING, NY

NATO Ministers Discuss Importance of Afghan Mission Taking advantage of the opening of the 61st U.N. General Assembly to prepare for their summit later this year, NATO foreign ministers reaffirmed the importance of the mission in Afghanistan and emphasized the need to link security with economic development efforts, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said September 21. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried said that the meeting provided an important opportunity for us to remind ourselves and the world how important NATO is to our common security. more

Press conference by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer after the meeting of Foreign Ministers in NY. more

Assistant Secretary Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Press Availability following NATO Ministerial New York.

PROGRESS IN AFGHANISTAN

NATO Supreme Commander Praises Progress of Afghan Army  Afghanistan’s national army is the brightest spot in country’s new democracy, NATO’s supreme commander says. “By far, the Afghan National Army is the most successful pillar of our reconstruction efforts to date,” Marine General James Jones told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee September 21. Military reform is one of the five pillars of Afghan security sector reform formally established in April 2002 at a donors’ conference in Geneva, Switzerland. more

News Briefing with Gen. Jones, Commander European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Department of Defense, September 20, 2006 more

Operation Medusa Foiled Taliban Plans, NATO Commander Says NATO's supreme commander says the alliance's recently concluded offensive operation in southern Afghanistan killed at least a quarter of the former Taliban regime's fighters, and possibly more. Meeting with journalists at the Pentagon September 20, Marine General James Jones was asked for an overall estimate of the number of Taliban fighters killed in Operation Medusa, wherein 6,000 NATO troops from five countries, along with Afghan army forces, established a presence for the first time in Khandahar province. more 

DoD News Briefing with Lt. Gen. Eikenberry from the Pentagon. Department of Defense, September 21, 2006 more

WORKING TOGETHER TO SECURE AFGHANISTAN

Australian Reconstruction Task Force deployed to Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan - 13 September 2006 more

U.S. Troop Levels in Afghanistan To Remain Steady Through February The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan says he expects troop levels there to remain steady until February 2007. more

STRENGTHENING CAPABILITIES

NATO Allies Agree To Buy C-17 Aircraft, Reducing Airlift Shortage NATO has announced that 13 allies are in negotiations to buy at least three or four Boeing C-17 Globemaster III long-range cargo jets, with deliveries beginning in 2007. The September 12 announcement follows six months of negotiations aimed at pooling financial resources in order to help reduce NATO’s chronic airlift shortage. The plan was proposed by the United States, which has agreed to participate by contributing as much as an entire aircraft to the new NATO airlift fleet. 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.