John Richardson, Head of the Maritime Policy Task Force at the European Commission reviewed the EU’s efforts to integrate analysis and decision-making across a number of maritime sectors. Former White House Chief of Staff and Member of Congress Leon Panetta, Chairman of the Pew Oceans Commission offered his insights on current U.S. maritime policy and how EU-U.S. maritime cooperation can be enhanced. Sean Connaughton, Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration; Arne Fuglvog, Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); and Chris Koch, President and CEO of the World Shipping Council discussed maritime surveillance, with particular emphasis on security matters. Duncan Smith, Principal at Blank Rome Government Relations LLC moderated the discussion. Rear Admiral Torben Ørting Jørgensen, Assistant Chief of Staff, Capabilities, Allied Command Transformation (ACT), NATO discussed the impact of increased law enforcement and surveillance of ocean activities on the maritime sector.
A growing sense of crisis about NATO’s mission in Afghanistan crystallized in Washington early this year with the release of near-simultaneous reports on the outlook there – all sounding similar warnings to the effect that the campaign to restore government authority against insurgent Taliban forces and pacify the country has been neglected, under-resourced and damaged by conflicting views about the mission’s purpose.
Jean-François Bureau, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, NATO discussed NATO’s new strategic concepts as it looks ahead to the 2009 summit, which include prevention of terrorism and maritime awareness, cyber-defense, missile defense and energy security. He also discussed the significance of public diplomacy as NATO redefines its role in order to meet the new security challenges of the 21st century and transitions from a military defense organization into a broader regional security organization. H.E. Andreas Kakouris, Ambassador of Cyprus; H.E. Mark Miceli-Farrugia, Ambassador of Malta; H.E. Dominique Struye de Swielande, Ambassador of Belgium; and H.E. Adrian Vierita, Ambassador of Romania; as well as Gerald Pease, Executive Director, Department of Defense Policy Board on Federal Aviation Leo Michel, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University moderated the meeting.
At the time of the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999, the premise of Western governments was that confronting ethnic cleansing was more important than respecting the international borders.
A growing sense of crisis about NATO’s mission in Afghanistan crystallized in Washington early this year with the release of near-simultaneous reports on the outlook there – all sounding similar warnings to the effect that the campaign to restore government authority against insurgent Taliban forces and pacify the country has been neglected, under-resourced and damaged by conflicting views about the mission’s purpose.
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