07-02-2009, 05:32 AM
In case you missed it.
For more back ground information there is this post here:
http://www.deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/....php?t=100
Command accord presages French return to Nato
By Ben Hall in Paris and James Blitz in London
Published: February 5 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 5 2009 02:00
France has paved the way for its full reintegration in Nato's military command by securing the backing of the US administration for French officers to take two senior command positions in the alliance.
Forty-three years after General Charles de Gaulle pulled his country out of Nato's military command in a bold assertion of diplomatic and military autonomy, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, appears to have sealed his country's return to the heart of the alliance, ending a symbol of its foreign policy exceptionalism.
According to diplomats in Paris and Brussels, final decisions on the commands to be accorded to France have not yet been taken. "France has still to formally announce whether and when it will rejoin Nato's military structure," said a diplomat.
However, officials confirmed that James Jones, US national security adviser, has agreed in principle that French officers could take over Allied Command Transformation, a unit overseeing Nato doctrine based in -Norfolk, Virginia; and the alliance's command post in Lisbon, the headquarters of the Rapid Reaction Force.
The US and some of its Nato allies are now waiting to see what announcements Mr Sarkozy makes about France's plans at the Munich security conference this weekend.
According to one western diplomat, the issue of French reintegration into Nato will be among the issues to be discussed in Munich. "Sarkozy will have to say something and clarify what's happening. If France is to rejoin Nato fully this spring, he needs to set the stage for the formal announcement at Nato's 60th anniversary summit."
If the two commands in Virginia and Lisbon are -confirmed, they will fall short of the strategically important Nato southern command demanded by then president Jacques Chirac in his abortive attempt to reintegrate France fully into the alliance's command structure in the mid-1990s.
The deal may make it harder for Mr Sarkozy, the most pro-American French president in a generation, to fend off domestic criticism that he has failed to secure concessions from Washington on bolstering Europe's role in the alliance.
France started its return to the command structure several years ago and now has hundreds of officers working in Nato headquarters. But Mr Sarkozy was determined to complete the reintegration, arguing it had become an outdated symbol of French exceptionalism and source of distrust across the Atlantic.
He set two conditions for France's return - further progress in European -security and defence policy and a bigger role for Europe inside the alliance itself - but left the details vague enough for the criteria to be easy to fill.
Paris argues that big strides were made in European Union defence under France's EU presidency in the second half of 2008. -However, they fell short of Paris's long-standing objective of an autonomous operational military headquarters for the EU based in Brussels.
For more back ground information there is this post here:
http://www.deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/....php?t=100
Command accord presages French return to Nato
By Ben Hall in Paris and James Blitz in London
Published: February 5 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 5 2009 02:00
France has paved the way for its full reintegration in Nato's military command by securing the backing of the US administration for French officers to take two senior command positions in the alliance.
Forty-three years after General Charles de Gaulle pulled his country out of Nato's military command in a bold assertion of diplomatic and military autonomy, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, appears to have sealed his country's return to the heart of the alliance, ending a symbol of its foreign policy exceptionalism.
According to diplomats in Paris and Brussels, final decisions on the commands to be accorded to France have not yet been taken. "France has still to formally announce whether and when it will rejoin Nato's military structure," said a diplomat.
However, officials confirmed that James Jones, US national security adviser, has agreed in principle that French officers could take over Allied Command Transformation, a unit overseeing Nato doctrine based in -Norfolk, Virginia; and the alliance's command post in Lisbon, the headquarters of the Rapid Reaction Force.
The US and some of its Nato allies are now waiting to see what announcements Mr Sarkozy makes about France's plans at the Munich security conference this weekend.
According to one western diplomat, the issue of French reintegration into Nato will be among the issues to be discussed in Munich. "Sarkozy will have to say something and clarify what's happening. If France is to rejoin Nato fully this spring, he needs to set the stage for the formal announcement at Nato's 60th anniversary summit."
If the two commands in Virginia and Lisbon are -confirmed, they will fall short of the strategically important Nato southern command demanded by then president Jacques Chirac in his abortive attempt to reintegrate France fully into the alliance's command structure in the mid-1990s.
The deal may make it harder for Mr Sarkozy, the most pro-American French president in a generation, to fend off domestic criticism that he has failed to secure concessions from Washington on bolstering Europe's role in the alliance.
France started its return to the command structure several years ago and now has hundreds of officers working in Nato headquarters. But Mr Sarkozy was determined to complete the reintegration, arguing it had become an outdated symbol of French exceptionalism and source of distrust across the Atlantic.
He set two conditions for France's return - further progress in European -security and defence policy and a bigger role for Europe inside the alliance itself - but left the details vague enough for the criteria to be easy to fill.
Paris argues that big strides were made in European Union defence under France's EU presidency in the second half of 2008. -However, they fell short of Paris's long-standing objective of an autonomous operational military headquarters for the EU based in Brussels.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.