I’ve received a lot of good feedback on Afghanistan, including a series of comments and questions that center around how we will use the 37,000-troop uplift.  Let me take a moment and share four quick thoughts that connect to a number of those questions.

First, I am very grateful to the nations that have contributed to this uplift.  The entire NATO alliance and all our ISAF partners — 43 today with more coming — are committing themselves to success in Afghanistan.  That is in and of itself a vital message to the people of Afghanistan AND to the Taliban that seek to overthrow the government and impose their tyranny on the population — which does NOT support them. more…

The Land Component Conference held at Rheindahlen on 8th December was an important opportunity to validate the restructuring of the HQ better to meet the needs of hybrid conflict against the challenges posed by reality as expressed by an authoritative and experienced group of outside speakers.   These included: Beth Cole (Executive Director US Institute of Peace), Martin Howard (NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Operations), General Sir David Richards (UK CGS), Lord Ashdown (former leader of the Liberal Democrats and former High Representative in Bosnia), Alastair Campbell (Tony Blair’s former press secretary) with the UN and NGO perspective being provided by Paul Larsen (World Food Programme) and Dr Christophe Fournier (International President Médecins Sans Frontières)  The speakers were complemented by an eclectic, multi-disciplinary audience from the diplomatic world, the UN and NGOs, the media, academe, the EU together with strong representation from within NATO and the UK Armed Forces. After an excellent pre-Conference dinner which cemented old friendships and generated new in the convivial atmosphere of the HQ ARRC Officers Mess, we had a most stimulating and valuable day of presentations and wide-ranging discussions around the issue of achieving unity of purpose in hybrid conflict. more…

Flying home through bumpy weather from Pristina, Kosovo after a very full day visiting our Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops.  Along with me are the Ambassadors of the United States, Germany, and Turkey to NATO.  We spent a rainy, muddy day alongside 13,000 soldiers from over 30 countries — all deeply involved in the vital mission of maintaining a safe and secure environment in Kosovo.

The NATO effort in Kosovo has a long, successful history since 1999, and while the KFOR force will undergo changes, the mission will not change. I recommended earlier this year that we reduce our overall force down to 10,000 troops by the end of January, and that has been approved by the North Atlantic Council, the supreme political decision making body of NATO.  I made that recommendation after careful study of the security situation, and progress by the international community in advancing positive civil-military cooperation. more…