About the Author: Frank Rose serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Space and Defense Policy in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance.

The European Phased Adaptive Approach to missile defense (or EPAA) is designed to protect our deployed forces and Allies in Europe, as well as improve protection of the U.S. homeland against potential ICBMs from the Middle East.

Today, there is a growing threat from short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles to our deployed forces, allies, and partners. This threat is likely to increase in the coming years as some states make their ballistic missiles more accurate, reliable, and survivable.

That is why in 2009, President Obama outlined a four-phase approach for European missile defense that would augment the defense of the United States against a future long-term threat and provide more comprehensive and more rapid protection to our deployed forces and European Allies against the current threat. The President made clear his commitment to… more »

About the Author: Ivo Daalder serves as U.S. Ambassador to NATO.

At the just-concluded NATO Summit in Chicago, the largest gathering of NATO nations and partners since the Alliance was founded, we delivered on the promises we made at our historic Lisbon Summit 18 months earlier.

First of all, we added details to the Lisbon roadmap for how we will gradually and responsibly wind down the NATO mission in Afghanistan. By the middle of 2013, every district and province in Afghanistan will have Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in the lead for security, with NATO forces in a supporting role. By the end of 2014, the Afghans will be fully responsible for their own security, and the NATO-led combat mission will come to an end. But our engagement in Afghanistan will continue after 2014, with a new mission focused on training and advising the Afghan forces.

Second, even in this fiscally austere time, NATO leaders agreed to… more »

About the Author: Katie Dowd serves in the Office of the Secretary of State.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton launched the Civil Society 2.0 initiative two years ago to build capacity among grassroots organizations. Since then, the State Department has dedicated itself to increasing the digital literacy of those working in civil society through the TechCamp program, orchestrating half a dozen camps around the world with more planned for 2012.

Our most recent project, TechCamp: Bucharest, was held in the Romanian capital’s historic Central Library and hosted in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Romanian Ministry of Communications and Information Society, the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). The agenda focused on helping working-level staff from non-governmental… more »