Poland spent Around half a Billion on Afghan Missions

WARSAW — Poland spent 2.02 billion zloty ($606 million) on arms for its military mission in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2011, Jacek Sonta, the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said in a statement.

Poland spent the most in 2010 at 925.6 million zloty for new gear, and the least in 2008, at 125.5 million zloty, the spokesman said.

Since April 2007, when the country increased its military presence in Afghanistan from 150 to 1,200 troops, the Polish Ministry of Defense has launched a series of arms procurement programs, dubbed “the Afghan package.”

The purchases include 8,400 assault rifles, radio communication systems, 10 Israeli-made UAVs, C4ISR systems, five Russian-built Mi-17 transport helicopters and a wide range of munitions.

A significant portion of Poland’s 380 Rosomak armored modular vehicles was also deployed to Afghanistan. The eight-wheel-drive Rosomak is made by Polish state-owned manufacturer Wojskowe Zaklady Mechaniczne Siemianowice under a license from Finland’s Patria.

In 2009, Poland’s military took over responsibility for the troubled Afghan province of Ghazni. A year later, the Polish force in Afghanistan was increased to 2,600 soldiers, making it the fifth-largest among NATO states present in the country.

Poland plans to withdraw all combat troops from Afghan soil by the end of 2014 along with the remaining NATO forces. Over the past five years, 37 Polish soldiers were killed while on duty in Afghanistan.

NATO warns Russia on Military build up

VILNIUS — NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged Russia on Jan. 19 to refrain from building up its military near the alliance’s borders, saying it was a concern.

Rasmussen questioned Russian moves to bolster its forces in its Kaliningrad territory, which borders NATO members Lithuania and Poland, part of Moscow’s Cold War-era stamping ground.

“These Russian statements are, of course, a matter of concern for NATO allies,” Rasmussen said. “It is a complete waste of Russian financial resources because it is a buildup of offensive military capacities directed against an artificial enemy, an enemy that doesn’t exist.

“NATO has no intention whatsoever to attack Russia,” he added, speaking alongside Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Moscow has warned that it plans to deploy Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, and earlier this month, Russian media reported that an S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system would go into service there in April.

Russia repeatedly has said it will be forced to take additional measures if it fails to agree with NATO on a missile defense shield.

The U.S. insists a shield is needed against potential threats from Iran, but Russia counters that anti-missile facilities planned in Poland would undermine its own security.

Rasmussen said it was time for a reality check.

“It doesn’t make sense to build up offensive military capacities in the Kaliningrad region,” he said. “I would encourage the Russians to face a new reality. We are not enemies. We are not adversaries. We should be partners, and it would be of mutual benefit if we develop peaceful cooperation.”

Lithuania and fellow Baltic states Estonia and Latvia are nervous about Russian military moves. They won independence in 1991 after five decades of Soviet rule, joined NATO and the EU in 2004, and have strained relations with Moscow.

“Russian actions do not increase trust between NATO and Russia,” Grybauskaite said. “We invite Russia to be open for dialogue, to see new threats and realities, and to seek smart defense.”

With a population of 6.3 million and professional forces of 20,500, the Baltic states lack enough fighter planes to police their skies. Other NATO members therefore take turns doing so, from a base in Lithuania.

Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia want to extend the air patrol accord, which expires in 2014. Rasmussen said he was hopeful NATO’s upcoming summit in Chicago would approve a “long-term arrangement.”

Poland To Spend $42M on Tank Modernization

WARSAW - Poland's Ministry of Defense has set aside 138.6 million zloty ($42 million) for two contracts to modernize its T-72M1 and PT-91 main battle tanks, the Army's First Regional Logistics Base in Walcz said in a statement.

A 32.2 million-zloty deal for the overhaul of 20 T-72M1s was recently awarded to the repair plant Wojskowe Zaklady Motoryzacyjne (WZM). Of these, 10 units are to be modernized by Nov. 30, 2012, and a further 10 by Nov. 29, 2013.

"By the deadline for submission of bids, three bids were submitted for the first contract, and one bid for the second contract," the statement said.Meanwhile, the ministry has decided to rerun its 106.4 million-zloty tender to upgrade 40 PT-91 tanks after a bid submitted by Poland's biggest defense manufacturer, Bumar Group, was rejected. Under the plan, some 20 PT-91s are to be upgraded by Nov. 30, 2012, and the remaining 20 by Nov. 29, 2013.

WZM is part of Wojskowe Przedsiebiorstwa Remontowo-Produkcyjne, the country's second-largest defense group. In 2010, the Poznan-based plant reported revenues of 32.2 million zloty, up 1.2 percent over a year earlier, and a net profit of 8.3 million zloty, compared with a loss of 12.9 million zloty in 2009.

Introduced to the Polish Army in 1995, the PT-91 is a locally built, modernized version of the Soviet-designed T-72M1. Both tanks are manufactured by Bumar's subsidiary, Bumar-Labedy.

The Land Forces have about 590 T-72M1s and 230 PT-91s, according to figures from the ministry.

Romania Ratifies U.S. Missile Shield Agreement

BUCHAREST, Romania- The Romanian parliament ratified an accord to host U.S. missile interceptors on its soil on Dec. 6, a day before a meeting of the 28 NATO members in Brussels.

The Senate unanimously adopted the draft law ratifying the Romania-U.S. agreement signed in September that would allow the establishment and operation of a U.S. land-based ballistic missile defense system in Romania as part of NATO's efforts to build a continental missile shield.

"The location of some elements of the U.S. missile shield represents a very important contribution to the security of Romania, the U.S. and the entire alliance," Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi told senators, according to Mediafax news agency.

The draft law was adopted by the lower house in November and is now set to be promulgated by President Traian Basescu.

The deployment of the missile interceptors is expected to take place in 2015 at a former airbase in southern Romania.

The missile shield, which is based on U.S. technology, is one of the transatlantic alliance's main development axes for the coming years, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said.

Along with Romania, Turkey, Poland and Spain have also agreed to take part in the project.

Russian Planes Spark NATO Scramble in Baltics

VILNIUS - NATO jets were scrambled Nov. 7 as four Russian air force planes flew near the territory of the Baltic states, Lithuania's defense ministry said, adding that the unusual number was a cause for concern.
Defense ministry spokeswoman Ugne Naujokaityte said that four Danish F-16fighters, which currently police the skies of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, took to the air twice to escort the Russian planes.

Two AN26 transport aircraft and a TU134 bomber flew in succession from Russia's Baltic territory of Kaliningrad to Russia itself, and an IL20 intelligence-gathering plane flew in the opposite direction.
While their path over neutral waters did not ultimately encroach on the Baltic states' airspace, the flurry of flights was unusual in an area that normally sees only a few Russian aircraft transit every few weeks.
"The intensity of these Russian planes' flights raises concern. It proves once again the importance and necessity of the NATO air police mission in Baltic states," Naujokaityte said.
The Baltic states broke away from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991 after five decades of communist rule and joined NATO in 2004. They have had rocky ties with Moscow since independence and are jittery about Russian military moves in the region.
With a total population of 6.5 million and a professional military of 20,500, they lack sufficient aircraft to police their own skies.
As a result, other members of 28-nation NATO take turns patrolling the trio's airspace on rotations lasting several months, out of a base in Lithuania. Denmark took over from France in September. Russian aircraft bound for Kaliningrad - sandwiched between the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and fellow ex-communist NATO member Poland - have at times strayed into the Baltic states' skies without permission.
The line between navigational error and Russian "buzzing" of the Baltics can be hazy, experts say. While the planes involved in Monday's incident did not actually cross into the Baltic states' airspace, it comes amid growing disquiet about a Russian build-up in the region.
The Baltic states have stressed repeatedly that improving ties with their resurgent former master is by far their preferred option. But their concerns increased after Russia's 2008 war with ex-Soviet Georgia, as well as Moscow's affirmation in its military doctrine that NATO's expansion is a threat, and by military exercises with scenarios including cutting off the Baltic states from the rest of NATO.
Worries have been stoked by the bolstering of a brigade of marines in Kaliningrad, and reported Russian deployment there of a new anti-aircraft missile system sweeping the Baltic states and Poland.

2nd Indian AF Jet Crashes Within a Week

NEW DELHI - The Indian Air Force suffered further fleet depletion with the loss of two aircraft within a week. The latest crash involved a British Jaguar on Aug. 5; a Russian-made MiG-21 went down Aug. 2.

A senior Air Force official said nearly 500 MiG variant aircraft, mostly MiG-21 combat aircraft, have been lost since they were bought from the former Soviet Union. The official attributed nearly 40 percent of the crashes to human error, saying pilot training schedules have been disrupted because there are no advance jet trainers and there is a shortage of basic trainers.

In 2010, 10 Air Force aircraft crashes occurred, including four MiG-27s and two MiG-21s.

The Defence Ministry has contracted with BAE Systems to buy its Hawk advance jet trainers.

All the basic trainers have been grounded for over a year due to technical snags, and the replacements have yet to come in. In June, the Defence Ministry selected the Swiss Pilatus PC-7 to replace its basic trainers. However, no contract has been inked, Defence Ministry sources said. In July 2010, all of the 140 basic trainers, called Deepak trainers, were grounded for technical problems with the engines.

Deepak trainers form Stage 1 of the pilots' training schedule. The Air Force official said that even the Stage 2 trainer, the Kiran, is obsolete and needs replacement. The homemade Intermediate Jet Trainer is three years behind schedule.

"Delays in procurement of trainer aircraft, lack of spares and technical snags are the major reasons for the crash of IAF aircraft," said Bhim Singh, retired Indian Air Force wing commander.

Poland, U.S. Strike Deal on Air Force Deployment

WARSAW, Poland - Poland has signed a deal with the United States on the deployment from 2013 of aircraft and training staff to help bolster the EU nation's military capacity, Poland's defense minister said June 13.
"This agreement brings with something new, namely the permanent presence of American soldiers on Polish soil," minister Bogdan Klich told reporters in Warsaw after formally signing a memorandum on the deployments with the U.S. ambassador to Warsaw, Lee Feinstein.

"In this way, it prepares the permanent presence of American troops on Polish soil around 2018, in connection with the realization of the most important project - the anti-missile shield," Klich said, referring to the anti-missile shield project which NATO has adopted as its own.
Although Brussels and Washington insist the missile shield is to ward off threats from so-called rogue states like Iran, Moscow sees the plan a security threat.
According to a Polish defense ministry statement the memorandum inked June 13 foresees "the rotational deployment to Poland of the U.S. multi-task F-16 aircraft and C-130 transport aircraft, supported by the U.S. Air Force's Aviation Detachment deployed on a continuous basis".
It said there would be four annual rotations of aircraft and trainers, two of them involving F-16 fighters, with the first rotation of aircraft taking place in 2013.
Poland has a fleet of 48 state-of-the-art F-16 aircraft, and an F-16 base located in Lask, near the western Polish city of Poznan.
"We believe that this will become a regional hub for NATO air operations in Central Europe," Feinstein told reporters.
"This aviation detachment also has an important consequence for future regional cooperation with our other NATO allies working together with Poland and the United States and even with other partners," Feinstein said, without naming the partners in question.
Last week, fighter jets from NATO members Poland and Turkey became the alliance's first ever aircraft to team up with Russian jets in an unprecedented joint Russia-NATO anti-terrorism exercise aimed at preventing attacks such as the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes in the United States.
Last year also saw the first three rotations of unarmed training batteries of U.S. Patriot missiles in Poland, which Warsaw's Cold War-era master Moscow slammed. Four rotations are planned this year.
Ex-communist countries such as Poland that have joined NATO since the alliance began expanding in eastern Europe in 1999 see U.S. ties as their main security bulwark and have contributed troops in return.
Poland sent forces to Iraq as part of former U.S. President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" and is a major contributor in Afghanistan.

NATO, Russian Jets Hold First Ever Joint Exercise

WARSAW - NATO and Russian fighter jets held their first ever joint exercise June 7, teaming up in a bid to prevent attacks such as the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes on the United States, a NATO official confirmed.

Col. Sylwester Bartoszewski, supervisor of Vigilant Skies 2011, explains the first of two planned exercises of Polish F-16s and Russian Sukhoi jets on June 7 in Warsaw. NATO and Russian fighter jets held their first ever joint exercise. (Janet Skarzynski / AFP via Getty Images)

"Today was an important step for NATO-Russia relations, and therefore in my opinion, also an important step for the world because the threat of terrorism is a common one," Georges D'hollander, general manager of the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency told reporters in Warsaw on June 7 after the first of two planned exercises were completed.

"This is a confidence-building initiative which originated by the decision of the NATO-Russia Council," D'hollander added, at once stressing its "important political dimension."
The unprecedented exercise began the morning of June 7 with the departure of a Polish CASA 295M aircraft from Krakow simulating a hijacked civilian aircraft. Two Polish F-16s from the Krzesiny air base near Poznan, central Poland, later intercepted the "renegade" aircraft and then handed the mission over to two Russian Sukhoi jets that guided the plane to the northern Polish city of Malbork.
"This was the first time in history when there was co-operation between Russian and NATO fighters in this kind of a scenario," NATO exercise director Czech Colonel Petr Mikulenka told reporters in Warsaw.
The aircraft were taking part in the four-day NATO-Russia "Vigilant Skies 2011," event that began Monday involving flights over Poland and the Black Sea.
On June 8, three Turkish F-16s and two Russian Sukhois will intercept a rogue plane over the Black Sea.
"The aerial exercises are to test the NATO-Russia Council Cooperative Airspace Initiative (CAI), aimed at preventing a new 9/11 by "sharing information on movements in NATO airspace and Russian airspace, and by coordinating interceptions of renegade aircraft," according to a NATO statement.
The initiative hopes to "improve air safety for the thousands of passengers using international flights between NATO airspace and Russian airspace each day, and the millions of inhabitants on the ground."
The new airspace security system "provides a shared NATO-Russia radar picture of air traffic and allows early warning of suspicious air activities through commonly agreed procedures."
"In situations when an aircraft starts behaving erratically, the air traffic coordination system offers increased information sharing and communication to ensure rapid, joint responses to terrorist threats," a NATO statement said.
The system has two coordination centers, one in Warsaw and another in Moscow, with local coordination sites in Russian cities of Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don and Murmansk as well as Warsaw, Bodo in Norway and Ankara in Turkey.

Poland To Host U.S. F-16 Rotations: Official

WARSAW - U.S. F-16 fighter jets and Hercules transport aircraft will be deployed in Poland on a rotating basis while a U.S. aviation detachment will be permanently stationed there, a senior U.S. adviser said May 27 as President Obama arrived in the country.
"We are going to announce tomorrow the conclusion of the agreement to establish an aviation detachment in Poland that will allow for our two air forces to cooperate in training the Poles to utilize the American aircraft that they purchased, F-16 and (Hercules) C-130," Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a senior adviser for European affairs on the National Security Council told reporters. "What we will be doing is rotating trainers and aircraft to Poland so that they can become more interoperable with NATO. This will be a small permanent presence on the ground and a permanent presence that will be rotational."

Ahead of the visit, officials in Warsaw had expressed hope it would bring a deal for the permanent stationing of a U.S. Air Force technical ground crew at a Polish F-16 base, as well as training rotations of U.S. F-16 fighters and Hercules transport aircraft as of 2013.
Last year saw the first three rotations of unarmed training batteries of U.S. Patriot missiles in Poland, a move that also sparked Russia's ire. Four rotations are planned this year.

Russia Softens Stance on U.S. Missile Shield

MOSCOW - Russia on May 21 said it may be ready to drop its objections to the U.S.-backed missile defense shield for Europe if it receives a formal security pledge from the United States.
The comments by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggest an easing of Moscow's position and precede a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of G8 summit in France next week.

Lavrov said during talks with the German and Polish foreign ministers that missile defense negotiations with the United States and NATO were "progressing but slowly."
"We are proposing, and asking for it to be put in writing, that the missile defense system for Europe is not directed against any of the participating states - not NATO, Russia or other European states," Lavrov said.
"We are told there is no need to get this down in writing because this is inherently the case," he told a televised news conference.
"But if it is inherently not aimed against Russia, why not write [that] down?" he asked.
Lavrov's nuanced language appears aimed at easing tensions between Washington and Moscow on the eve of the Group of Eight summit talks May 26 and 27.
Russia previously sought veto power in the system's operation - a subject not broached by Lavrov.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev used a closely watch pre-election television appearance this week to warn the United States of a return to the Cold War should the shield be constructed despite Russia's objections.
And the chief of the military's general staff warned May 20 that the shield's deployment could lead to a "mad arms race."
Russia's tough talk and decision to test two heavy nuclear missiles in the past month underscore a fear in Moscow that the Obama administration is paying lip service to the "reset" in relations announced by Washington in 2009.
The United States argues that the shield is meant only to protect Europe from nations such as Iran but has said nothing about Russian security safeguards.
Analysts note that Moscow is primarily worried the system will leave a permanent stamp on the security map of Europe and formalize the reduced role Russia plays in the post-Cold War world.
The shield could theoretically be expanded to sizes that one day neutralize Russia's shrinking nuclear arsenal, or transformed into an offensive weapon that target its soil.
"This issue is so serious that we cannot ignore a single detail," Lavrov said.
But he stressed that Moscow saw itself joining the systems under the right conditions.
Russia envisioned "a joint concept and architecture of a future European missile defense system," Lavrov said.
"We hope that we will be able to resolve these issues - at least at the expert level."

Poland Hopes Obama Visit Will Bring F-16 Base Deal

WARSAW - Poland is hoping that the May 27-28 visit of U.S. President Barack Obama will pave the way for the stationing of U.S. F-16 fighter jets on Polish soil for the first time, Poland's defense minister said May 9.
"I hope that both sides will be ready with this agreement by the time President Obama arrives," Bogdan Klich said, quoted by the Polish PAP news agency.

"I confirm that at the moment we are holding talks with the Americans on the topic of detailed agreements that will govern on what basis the Air Detachment - the detachment that will permanently service the F-16 and Hercules crews and land personnel periodically visiting Poland - will be stationed on our territory," Klich said.
Last year, Klich said he hoped the F-16 rotations would begin in 2013.
The United States will announce the transfer of an F-16 base from Aviano in Italy to the Lask air field in central Poland during the Obama visit, Poland's leading Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported May 9, quoting an unnamed Polish diplomatic source.
A U.S. official familiar with the negotiations May 9 in Warsaw refused to confirm or deny the information, but indicated that an agreement announced by the Polish and U.S. presidents in Washington in December was "on track".
A press statement issued Dec, 8 by the White House following talks between Obama and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski announced the "establishment of a U.S. air detachment in Poland to support periodic rotation of U.S. military aircraft", without providing a time-frame.
In December, Poland's Soviet-era master Russia warned it against hosting U.S. fighter jets, saying it would counter the move.

Romania, U.S. Agree on Shield Site: Official

BUCHAREST - The United States and Romania announced plans Tuesday to install missile interceptors at a former air base in the south of the Balkans country for a future defense shield, the first such deployment in Europe.
The two governments have been negotiating for more than a year about the deployment of ballistic missile interceptors, which should be operational by 2015, and the announcement came in a televised address.

"We have decided that the anti-missile shield will be deployed at the former airbase at Deveselu, in Olt County," Romanian President Traian Basescu said.
The airbase, which will remain under Romanian command, will host an average of 200 U.S. troops and up to a maximum of 500.
The choice was made after a detailed analysis of some 120 parameters that should meet the highest security requirements, Basescu stressed.
Washington originally planned to install an anti-missile shield in Poland and the neighboring Czech Republic, aimed at countering feared attacks from Iran.
In September 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama scrapped that project, which had been pushed by his predecessor George W. Bush and enraged Russia.
Washington has since reworked the scheme and signed a new treaty with Moscow on reducing strategic nuclear weapons. Russia has said it reserves the right to withdraw from the treaty if Washington presses ahead with missile defense systems in Eastern Europe in a way that Moscow opposes.
But Basescu once again stressed that the shield was "purely defensive and not directed against Russia."
He added that the interceptors would be part of a missile shield that NATO plans to develop in the coming years.
"This is the highest level of security Romania can attain," Basescu said.
Romanian officials had previously said that the Balkan country was to host 24 SM3-type interceptors.
Basescu's announcement coincided with the start of a visit by Ellen Tauscher, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security affairs. Tauscher and Romanian officials were to visit the airbase later in the day.
The U.S. official said after meeting with Basescu that Washington was grateful for help from allies such as Romania in the fight against terrorism.
Basescu also announced that U.S. troops and military equipment bound for Iraq and Afghanistan would transit a Romanian airbase and a harbor on the Black Sea.
"We have approved the use of the Mihail Kogalniceanu airport and of the harbor of Constanta for the transit of U.S. troops and equipment going to Iraq and Afghanistan and back to Europe," Basescu said in his televised address. "Kogalniceanu and Constanta will thus become two strategic sites for the U.S. as well as for Romania."
Constanta is the main Romanian sea harbor.
Basescu said the Kogalniceanu airbase, used by U.S. troops during the war in Iraq, will also temporarily shelter four U.S. tankers and four Hercules C-17 aircraft.
A close ally of the U.S., Romania was among the first countries to join the international forces deployed in Iraq and currently has 1,770 troops in Afghanistan.

NATO Vows To Stay In Afghanistan

BRUSSELS, Belgium - NATO warned Monday that its mission in Afghanistan was far from over despite the death of Osama bin Laden as war-weary Europeans pile pressure on governments to bring troops home quickly.
World leaders hailed bin Laden's killing Sunday by U.S. commandos inside Pakistan as a victory against al-Qaida, but they also warned that the battle against terrorism was far from over.

"As terrorism continues to pose a direct threat to our security and international stability, international cooperation remains key and NATO is at the heart of that cooperation," said NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
"NATO allies and partners will continue their mission to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for extremism, but develops in peace and security," he said.
Some 140,000 NATO-led troops are in Afghanistan amid growing fatigue in Europe over the war, launched by the United States to hunt down al-Qaida and its Taliban hosts in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
NATO has decided to begin handing over security responsibility to Afghan forces this year, with the aim of ending the combat mission by 2014, although the alliance insists that it will stand by Kabul's side for the long haul.
Francois Heisbourg, special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said calls in Europe for troop withdrawals will only grow after bin Laden's death.
"If we are looking for an exit door, it is now or never," Heisbourg said. "Politically and strategically, the intervention in Afghanistan was at the start about bin Laden. With him gone, it becomes harder to justify this military presence, regardless of the situation on the ground," he said.
NATO officials insisted that the war is about bringing stability to Afghanistan, not just about al-Qaida.
"NATO's mission in Afghanistan is not linked to one enemy. It is linked to stability and bin Laden was not the only obstacle," said an alliance official. "His death will not suddenly resolve everything."
A NATO military official acknowledged that there could be some "temptations" to pull troops out, but that European nations still face the threat of extremists entering their countries.
Britain, the second-largest contributor to the mission after the United States with 9,500 troops, warned that al-Qaida was still "in business" and that its chief's death would not mean an end to the campaign.
"The work in Afghanistan will continue to be phenomenally difficult and must go on. So it would be wrong to draw the conclusion that suddenly we have solved a mass of the world's problems," said Foreign Secretary William Hague.
NATO allies, however, are keeping an eye on the exit sign in Afghanistan.
The Netherlands withdrew its combat troops last year and decided to send police trainers this year. Canada plans to switch to a training mission this year while Poland has said it wants to do the same in 2012.
Lawmakers in Germany, the third-largest contingent with 5,000 troops, agreed in January to extend the mission by 12 months but with a clause calling for them to begin coming home at the end of the year, if conditions permit.
With 100,000 American troops in Afghanistan, U.S. President Obama hopes conditions allow him to begin drawing down troops in July, while British Prime Minister David Cameron says London may also begin a withdrawal this year.
Constanze Stelzenmueller, an expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said bin Laden's death will not have an impact on the debate over troop withdrawals since al-Qaida was no longer a central player there.
"Afghanistan is now about stabilizing the country so that it doesn't become another failed state," she said. "There is by now a pretty general interest in Afghanistan not imploding and I think that's the case that ought to be made to the larger public."

Building the Shield

Efforts to establish a NATO-led European missile shield have ricocheted off national political challenges, regional rivalries and commercial interests, with a scheduled June meeting of allied and Russian defense ministers pivotal to charting the way forward.
Russian officials have directly linked participation in European missile defense to the U.S.-Russian New START, which took force Feb. 5. Two days after the strategic arms treaty went into effect, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists that Russia would consider withdrawing from the New START if Washington aggressively pushed for the missile shield.
"If the U.S. bolsters the qualitative and quantitative potential of its missile defense, a question will arise whether Russia should further stick to the treaty or would be forced to take measures to respond to the situation, including military and technical measures," the diplomat said at a Feb. 7 news conference.
At the NATO-Russia November summit in Lisbon, Moscow and the alliance agreed to jointly develop a European missile defense. However, Russian officials lately have expressed concerns that two separate missile defense systems will be built in Europe: one by the U.S. and NATO without Russian participation, and the second by NATO together with Russia.
On Feb. 11, President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Russia's special envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, to the newly created post of special presidential representative on anti-missile defense and ordered creation of an interagency task force to cooperate with NATO. The group is expected to begin its work by March 31 and will be responsible for coordinating the negotiating process with NATO.
"This issue will really become either critically important for mutual understanding and further rapprochement between Russia and the West in military policies, or it will throw back our relations for several years and maybe even decades," Rogozin said in Brussels on March 1, the official RIA Novosti agency reported.
Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said at the Feb. 7 news conference that missile defense is "a kind of litmus test that will allow us to see whether NATO members and the United States are ready for open, equal, honest and parity-based cooperation."
NATO and Russian defense ministers are to convene in June to discuss the results of a missile threat assessment by the group of experts who are also to report about the feasibility of building a joint missile defense system.
The initial assessment cites missile threats to Europe from the south, Rogozin said, but he questions why some plans are oriented toward northern Europe.
"Buildup of the strategic anti-missile defense in Northern Europe, where not a single expert identified a possible threat, is an unpleasant signal for us," he said, apparently referring to the U.S. plans to install elements of the missile defense system in Poland. Poland Poland has been at the center of European missile defense efforts and conflicts. Under plans proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush, Poland would have hosted interceptors. President Barack Obama scrapped that plan for an Aegis-ship based system, but still would install interceptors in Poland, as announced during the March 3 visit to Washington of Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.
Meanwhile, Poland also is pursuing a national missile defense effort that could include a combination of Patriots from Germany and development of a new system, although some question whether these efforts conflict.
Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich and Germany's former defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, discussed a possible sale of up to 12 Patriot missile batteries during Guttenberg's Feb. 15 visit to Warsaw. "We are in the middle of talks on acquiring a number of Patriot missile batteries from Germany," Klich said at a press briefing after that meeting.
"We are linked by common proposals, goals and priorities," Guttenberg said at the briefing. "Poland is our partner. During the next few weeks, we will be holding talks on this issue."
Meanwhile, according to earlier reports by the local media, the Polish Ministry of Defense planned to launch a tender for an air defense system by the end of this year. The deal was reported to be worth about $5 billion.
In early 2010, five bidders responded to a request for technical specifications. These included proposals submitted by Raytheon and Norway's Kongsberg; MBDA and Poland's Bumar Group; Raytheon and Israel's Rafael; Germany's Diehl BGT Defense; and Israel Aerospace Industries. "We have designed a project of an air defense system, dubbed the Shield for Poland," said Edward Nowak, chief executive of Bumar Group. "It currently is our most significant project."
According to Nowak, the joint pitch of the local defense industry and MBDA has been wrongly seen as directly competing with plans to deploy elements of a U.S. missile shield on Polish soil, and the two projects would complement each other.
State-owned Bumar, which is Poland's largest defense group, said it hopes that joining forces with European manufacturer MBDA, which is offering the Aster 30 and VL Mica missiles, will improve its chances of securing the multibillion-dollar contract.
"The lack of developed missile products has been the biggest shortcoming of Poland's defense industry. While we have the necessary know-how and technology in radio location and C4ISR systems, we lack the technology in missile production," said Tomasz Badowski, chief defense analyst at the Euro-Atlantic Association, a think tank in Warsaw. "Cooperation with MBDA could permit [the Polish industry] to bridge the tech gap."
As Germany's bid could jeopardize the launch of the air defense tender, Bumar has intensified its research efforts and hopes to get government funding to quickly push ahead with a proposal and win the bid in its consortium with MBDA.
Poland's troubled relations with Russia play a key role in Warsaw's drive to acquire a new air defense system, analysts say. Medvedev visited the Polish capital Dec. 6, a trip that marked the first official visit by a Russian head of state to Poland in more than eight years, but the two countries have maintained frosty relations until recently.
The deployment of U.S. Patriot missiles on a training rotation at the Polish military base of Morag, in the country's northeast, was blasted by Moscow. Poland responded to Russia's objections in October, when the missiles were moved from Morag, where they have been stationed since last May, to the base in Torun, away from the Russian border.
Badowski said Poland's current air defense system is outdated and, despite Army modernization efforts, its cornerstone is based on Soviet technology.
"The missile defense systems used by anti-aircraft units of the Air Force are simply not capable of eliminating potential threats from the air," he said.
Norway In Norway, politicians skillfully linked support for the NATO missile shield with its own strategic High North defense plan. Norway had initially shown clear reluctance to row in behind the NATO plan, but warmed to the project after persuading NATO to deepen its commitment to High North and Arctic defenses.
The substantive concern among Norwegian legislators and military was that the shield would offer protection only to some NATO members; Norway was adamant it protect all NATO states. The transition from being an opponent to a supporter of the plan was rapid. Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, Norway's former defense minister, was the only representative to publicly voice opposition to the plan at a NATO meeting in Vilnius in February 2008.
Strøm-Erichsen told the NATO meeting in the Lithuanian capital that Norway questioned the "need for a missile defense system," warning such a move could trigger "an arms race."
Extending the system's geo-graphic range was proposed during discussions between Benson Whitney, the then-U.S. ambassador to Norway, and Norway's state secretary for foreign affairs, Raymond Johansen.
Whitney noted that Norway was likely to abandon its opposition if the protective umbrella was broadened to include all NATO-aligned states in Europe, and if NATO was open to signing bilateral agreements on missile defense with Poland and the Czech Republic.
Norway regarded the widening of the protective range as pivotal to its objective of strengthening its own anti-missile capability, primarily directed at Russia's long- and medium-range missile arsenal on its doorstep on the Kola Peninsula.
However, this strategic view changed as Norway became more proactive in building a so-called "bridge of cooperation" between NATO and Russia on the missile shield issue, in the hope that a joint NATO-Russian solution would better serve the country's security interests in the High North Norway's initial lukewarm reception to the missile defense system was also influenced by its wish to see NATO cooperate with Russia on a broader missile defense program. The Norwegian view is that the dividend in NATO-Russian cooperation in this arena is reduced tension in the High North and Arctic regions.
To this extent, Norway got its wish when the Obama administration decided to scrap the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic in favor of expanding the shield program to include all NATO countries in Europe and North America.
NATO-Russian missile shield cooperation has long been regarded by Norway as the best means of accelerating the end to the last remnants of the Cold War. Norway lobbied strongly for NATO to invite Russia to the negotiating table ahead of the organization's summit meeting in Lisbon last November. "By reaching out and inviting Russia to cooperate with us, I believe we also have a real chance to build a security roof for the entire Euro-Atlantic area," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Lisbon. The U.S. and NATO have a special interest in maintaining a trouble-free relationship with Norway, which has increased its funding toward surveillance of Russian forces on Kola and provided intelligence data on changing missile capabilities and progress on new missile assets and tests by Russia in the region.
This intelligence transfer will cover the planned test-firing of Bulava missiles by the Severodvinsk-based Yuri Dolgoruky Borey-class submarines, the newest strategic subs in Russia's fleet, in June or July. Turkey In Turkey, a decision about acquiring a national long-range air defense system will likely wait for several months after June legislative elections. Meanwhile, Turkey's participation in the NATO missile shield has involved some politically touchy issues.Turkey's proposed national air defense system is being designed to counter both aircraft and ballistic missiles, and will be independent from the NATO missile shield. But since both systems are, by nature, anti-ballistic missile schemes and both are supposed to protect Turkish soil, they will have to be integrated in some way.
But the U.S. and some of its Western partners are staunchly opposed to the integration of any Russian or Chinese system into the NATO missile shield.
"American officials already have said that non-NATO elements would cause serious interoperability problems," one Turkish diplomat said.
The defense analyst said Western worries are related to both defense and commercial concerns.
"They [the Westerners] simply don't want Turkey to select Russian or Chinese options, and part of their concern is commercial," the diplomat said.
In the event Turkey effectively drops Russia and China from the list of contenders, the competition will be left to a rivalry between U.S. and Italian-French companies.
At the Lisbon summit, Turkey managed to persuade its NATO partners not to mention any countries as specific threats, although French President Nicolas Sarkozy explicitly said the ballistic missile threat was coming from Iran. At Turkey's request, the need to protect all NATO territory was also included in the decision text, as Turkey has close and developing ties with Iran.
"In any case, Turkish and NATO officials will have tough talks, with Turkey wanting a lot in return for the deployment of X-band radars on its territory," the defense analyst said. "Again, the next Turkish Cabinet will make the final decision on that."
Nabi Abdullaev in Moscow, Jaroslaw Adamowski in Warsaw, Burak Ege Bekdil and Umit Enginsoy in Ankara, and Gerard O'Dwyer in Helsinki contributed.

NATO Chief Hopes Poland EU Presidency Boosts Russia Ties

WARSAW - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said March 17 he hoped Poland would use its upcoming presidency of the European Union to enhance the military alliance's ties with Russia.
"Poland can ... play a special role in improving the relationship between Russia and NATO in the European Union and that would be beneficial in our endeavors to improve the overall Euro-Atlantic security," Rasmussen said at a joint press conference with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski in Warsaw.

"We look very much forward to the Polish presidency of the European Union in the second half of this year," he said.
Having joined the European Union in 2004, Poland will take over the 27-member bloc's rotating presidency on July 1.
The NATO chief was in the Polish capital to mark the 12th anniversary of Poland's NATO entry along with fellow ex-communist states Hungary and the Czech Republic, a move that outraged their Soviet-era master Russia.
Poland's ties with Moscow have remained rocky since it peacefully shed communism in 1989, but its increasing importance as an EU member has seen Warsaw take on a conciliatory tone towards the Kremlin.
Rasmussen said he also thought Poland could play a role in enhancing cooperation between NATO and the European Union.
"Poland is a strong ally and has a strong position within the European Union and based on that Poland can play a special role in advancing our mutual cooperation," Rasmussen added.