One of you recently asked me on
EUCOM Blog two incredibly important questions: what am I doing to get more NATO countries into the fight in Afghanistan, and what am I doing to engage Russia?
First, let us clearly understand that EVERY nation in NATO is "in the fight” in Afghanistan. This is a committed alliance.
Second, as the Secretary General has said, "This Alliance is about sharing security, but that doesn't just mean sharing the benefits. It also means sharing the costs and the risks.” The nations that comprise NATO of course need to make their own determinations as to what contributions they make to NATO operations in Afghanistan. My job is to provide them, through NATO leadership in Brussels, with timely, accurate information about the operational environment so that they can make well-informed decisions. I spend a lot of time in dialogue with Brussels and nations to ensure that they have the latest information on the current environment, the progress we've made, and the challenges that remain.
Third, I try to make the case everywhere I go that we are a team that is "stronger together,” and that no one of us — no one nation — is as capable as all of us pulling together. There is a real synergy in all of us pulling together and the sum truly is greater than the simple addition of the parts in Afghanistan.
On Russia, my belief is that we can and will find many zones of practical cooperation with Russia. I wholeheartedly second the Secretary General's assertion that "we face many common security challenges [with Russia] and should develop a practical cooperation in areas where we are faced with the same security threats.”
The Secretary General is planning a trip to Russia later this year, and I hope that there will be opportunity in the next few years for me to make a similar trip in order to better define areas within the security arena in which we share common interests and may actively cooperate. This is ‘work in progress' involving 28 nations and will likely include a set of cooperation activities for 2010.
From a personal perspective, I would suggest counter-piracy, arms control, Afghanistan, counter-proliferation, cyber activity, the High North, counter-narcotics, and military training are all potential areas of cooperation and dialogue.
Adm. James Stavridis
SACEUR and Commander EUCOM