President Bush Gives U.S. Green Light to Two New NATO Members. On October 24, President Bush signed the accession protocols that pave the way for Albania and Croatia to become full members of NATO. Both countries were invited to join NATO at the April 2008 Summit in Bucharest, Romania. The Bucharest communiqué said Albania and Croatia “have demonstrated a solid commitment to the basic principles set out in the [1949] Washington Treaty, as well as their ability and readiness to protect freedom and … shared values by contributing to the alliance’s collective defense and full range of missions.”
The U.S. Senate ratified the accession protocols for Albania and Croatia in September. All 26 NATO members must ratify before they can join the Alliance. more

Secretary General of NATO Visit in Washington. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Washington on Friday, October 24. He met with President Bush and other Senior Administration officials, and attended the signing ceremony of the Albanian and Croatian accession protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty. more

NATO Defense Ministers Meet in Budapest. On October 9-10, NATO Defense Ministers met in Budapest to discuss NATO operations and Alliance capabilities. In response to a request from the Afghan government, Defense Ministers made a key decision to enable ISAF troops, working work with their Afghan counterparts, to act against narcotics labs and traffickers and in effect cut off a major source of funding for the Taliban. Defense Ministers also agreed to provide Alliance ships to patrol the waters off Somalia, securing key shipping lanes from increasing piracy and, importantly, providing an escort to ships delivering food aid to thousands under the World Food Program. more

NATO Ministers Give ISAF “Green Light” to Target Drug Networks. On October 10, NATO Defense Ministers approved a proposal that will allow ISAF soldiers in Afghanistan to shut down drug networks that funnel money to the Taliban. “I’m quite satisfied with the outcome on counter-narcotics – going after the networks of those who fund the Taliban,” said U.S. Defense Secretary Gates. He emphasized that the Taliban is earning millions of dollars in drug trafficking profits each year, which is “corrosive to good governance” and directly finances those who are killing Afghan, U.S. and coalition soldiers. more

NATO Ministers Reaffirm Support for Georgia. On October 10 in Budapest, the NATO-Georgia Commission met for the first time at Ministerial level since it was created. During the meeting, Defense Ministers discussed NATO’s assistance to Georgia in recovering from the recent conflict in areas such as defense and security cooperation, security sector reform and airspace management. NATO Ministers also reaffirmed the Alliance’s support for Georgia's territorial integrity and NATO aspirations. more