re: "Your masters are not in Brussels, Gen. Dempsey"

Pundita ("US foreign policy for the 21st Century") cautioned the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Money quote(s):

"If you think a person is crazy, what use is it to attempt to reason with him? However, I don't know whether the chairman is actually crazy, or just doing a good imitation whenever he discusses Pakistan -- a mental blip that seems to manifest in all ranking members of the U.S. military who hold forth on Pakistan whenever they get in front of a microphone.

But despite my discomfort I should like to point out that while the U.S. military is under civilian control, this doesn't mean it's supposed to be under the control of civilians in foreign nations, even NATO ones." (Bold typeface added for emphasis. - CAA.)

And yet.... going all the way back to World War I, the U.S. has had to learn to work within alliances, with its allies, even when it's leading said alliances.

Having said that, prior to NATO, all of the United State's alliances were fairly short-term ones.

Perhaps such long-term familiarity blurs our own clarity of mission.

"I can't find a sound rationale for U.S. commanders basing their war planning on the geopolitical machinations and business concerns of European, Turkish and Canadian governments. This, in my view, is taking the 'You gotta have a gang' mentality too far.

I confess I've been particularly concerned about the gang mentality since February 2010, when AFP reported that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasumssen had floated the idea of NATO becoming "the hub of a network of security partnerships and a centre for consultation on international security issues -- even issues on which the alliance might never take action." "

&

"(Y)ou know how it is, when people seek to assure you about something that hadn't even occurred to you before. Not to be unkind, but NATO demonstrated in Afghanistan that it can't fight its way out of a paper bag. All that NATO seems to excel at in the military sphere is carpet bombing. So I certainly hope it's not entertaining the idea of becoming a global constabulary -- one that takes its political guidance from Brussels, no less."

7/30

S&S - Danish leader chosen for top NATO post

Stars and Stripes



Danish leader chosen for top NATO post


By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes

Mideast edition, Sunday, April 5, 2009


STRASBOURG, France — As summits go, this weekend’s gathering of NATO members seemed especially productive, with the alliance addressing a number of issues, from Afghanistan to the selection of a new secretary general.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The annual North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting of heads of state tapped Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to lead the alliance. He will succeed Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in August."

&

"Turkish officials were said to have been against his appointment for his alleged refusal to rebuke the 2005 publication of cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper, which many Muslims found offensive. In response to a question about the supposed controversy, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Rasmussen "a democrat" and said there was "no reason for pre-conceived notions" about the Dane and his views toward Muslims or their revered prophet. "