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A German Army General has been appointed to Chief of Staff of U.S. Army Europe. This is the first time a non-U.S. officer has held this position.

Ukraine The Minister also expressed the view that assistance to the NATO Member States should be designed to address the longer term Photo NATO.int The Minister also expressed the view that assistance to the NATO Member States should be designed to address the longer term Ukraine may receive additional military aid to NATO members after the September Summit in Wales This was announced by Minister of Defense of Poland Tomasz Semonyak on air of Polish radio PIN, reports EvroPravda. "I see an increasing openness, in particular the United States. In April, President Barack Obama's decision about what can be delivered...

Here's the question, not of the day, but of the month: Who's Winning the War in Ukraine? That may sound like a simple question, but it isn't. That question leads to a second question "In whose eyes?" It also depends on the definition of "war". And it also depends on the definition of "win". And finally it depends on which media source you believe. Military Aspect From a military aspect, I have seen reports from both sides. The Western media portrays Ukraine on the march with the rebels surrounded, and losing ground. Is that accurate reporting? I will let you...

The people on the Mavi Marmara flotilla were genocidal Jew-hating jihadis, as you can see in the second video above: they were chanting a jihad war cry recalling Muhammad’s massacre of the Jews of Arabia: “Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return.” See the photos here of their weapons.And now Turkish troops will be accompanying a new jihad flotilla to Gaza. Will they attack Israeli troops?“Turkey to send another Freedom Flotilla to Gaza,” Middle East Monitor, July 26, 2014: The Turkish humanitarian relief organisation (IHH) is currently organising a “Freedom Flotilla II” which will carry humanitarian aid...

General Philip Breedlove, NATO’s top commander in Europe, has proposed that the Polish city of Szczecin expand its existing base to help the military alliance respond faster to any threat posed by Russia. According to the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think-tank close to NATO, Britain and other NATO allies backing the general’s plans to place supplies—weapons, ammunition and ration packs—at a new headquarters in eastern Europe, to enable a sudden influx of thousands of NATO troops to be ready for action in the event of a crisis. …

On Monday, four days after Vladimir Putin's minions in Ukraine shot down a passenger airliner carrying 298 people, including an American citizen, President Barack Obama emerged from the White House to issue a statement. Scowling at the camera, Obama stated: "Russia has extraordinary influence over these separatists. No one denies that. Russia has urged them on. Russia has trained them." Finally, after fulminating for several minutes about the nastiness of the Russian government, Obama approached the predictable climax: threats of action. Except that there were none. Instead, Obama explained that if Russia were to ignore his warnings, it would "only...

July 18, 2014 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - With Kiev's forces being encircled and decimated in eastern Ukraine, western Ukrainians in Kiev protesting the war, and US sanctions receiving global ridicule as feckless - the downing of a Malaysian Boeing 777 airliner with over 280 on board in eastern Ukraine - allegedly shot down over a conflict zone - will undoubtedly be exploited by NATO to vilify Kiev's opponents, particularly fighters in the east and Russia who NATO accuses of "destabilizing eastern Ukraine." Preceding the downing of Malaysian flight MH17, just hours beforehand, Ukraine claimed Russia had shot down...

NATO announced earlier this July that it is shelving plans to welcome any new members during its forthcoming Wales summit. The hopes of four countries—Bosnia, Macedonia, Georgia and Montenegro, which were expecting to deepen their cooperation with NATO—are now all but dashed, as senior NATO officials have hit the pause button on future enlargement. Just like the European Union, it seems that NATO is also suffering from enlargement fatigue. Unlike the Union though, NATO is shying away from even awarding the equivalent of the EU’s association agreement, namely the Membership Action Plan (MAP), to Georgia, over fears of provoking Moscow’s...

Sirens sounded Saturday evening in northern Israel as rockets were apparently fired from Lebanon into the Jewish state. The sirens sounded in Nahariya, Rosh Hanikra, Shlomi, Kabri and Hanita, along the border with Lebanon. Initial analysis said that the rockets were apparently fired from Lebanon by a Palestinian Lebanese terror group. "Two rockets fired from Lebanon hit uninhabited areas in the Nahariya region," a coastal town around 12 kilometers (seven miles) from the border with Lebanon, an army spokeswoman told AFP. Israel responded with artillery fire targeting the firing points. A Lebanese security source told AFP at least one rocket...

In an interview, outgoing NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen discusses Germany’s postwar tradition of pacifism and his belief the country is now ready, and indeed has the responsibility, to take on a greater role in global affairs. […] “Germany is a normal country today, with the kinds of rights and duties other countries have. That’s why Germany should play an important role in foreign and security policy, be it in the EU, NATO or in international politics.” …

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Thursday that his country’s ties with Israel would not return to normal unless Israel ceases its offensive on Gaza, AFP reports. "You will first stop this oppression. If not, it is not possible to realize normalization between Turkey and Israel," Erdogan said in the central Anatolian city of Yozgat after a dinner breaking the daily Ramadan fast. .....

Testimony ofMr. Edward LucasSenior Fellow and Contributing EditorCenter for European Policy AnalysisWashington, DCJuly 8, 2014Senate Foreign Relations CommitteeSubcommittee on European AffairsGood afternoon. Thank you for inviting me here today. It is an honor and a privilege to give testimony to this committee and I would like to thank Chairman Murphy and Ranking Member Johnson for this opportunity. I will give a short oral version of my written testimony and then look forward to taking questions.I have been dealing with European security for more than thirty years, as an activist for freedom and democracy during the Cold War, as a foreign...

Twelve EU countries have warned investors not to do business with Israeli settler entities, amid a security crisis in Israel and Palestine. The group includes: Austria; Belgium; Croatia; Denmark; Finland; Greece; Ireland; Luxembourg; Malta; Portugal; Slovakia; and Slovenia. Portugal published its statement on Wednesday (2 July) and the others came out on Thursday. France, Italy, and Spain put out similar communiques earlier this week. Germany and the UK already did it months ago. Poland is expected to publish a warning shortly. The Irish foreign ministry said the action “has been coordinated at EU level”. …

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria launched naval manoeuvres in the Black Sea on Friday with six other NATO countries including the United States, in the latest demonstration of the alliance's resolve to support its eastern European members in light of the Ukraine crisis. Bulgaria's defence ministry said the 10-day war games, dubbed BREEZE 2014, were designed to boost NATO solidarity and regional readiness, though it added they had been scheduled before Russia annexed Ukraine's Black Sea region of Crimea in March. Vessels from Bulgaria and its Black Sea neighbours Romania and Turkey and also from Greece, Italy, Britain and the United...

WASHINGTON -- NATO’s top military commander said Monday that American troops from the United States will be dispatched to Europe starting in October to help respond to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, supreme allied commander of the Western military alliance, said the U.S.-based troops will buttress American forces that have already been moved in recent months from Germany, Italy and elsewhere in Europe for stepped-up ground and air patrols in the three Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, plus Poland and Romania. “It’s a very momentous time in Europe, probably the most since the...

A group of U.S. diplomats arrived in Libya three years ago to a memorable reception: a throng of cheering men and women who pressed in on the startled group “just to touch us and thank us,” recalled Susan Rice, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser. The Libyans were emotional because the U.S. and its allies had toppled leader Moammar Gadhafi in a military campaign that averted a feared slaughter of Gadhafi’s foes. Obama administration officials called the international effort, accomplished with no Western casualties, a “model intervention.” But in three years Libya has turned into the kind of place U.S....

The Russian Navy launched a new and improved Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine today in St. Petersburg. Named the Rostov-on-Don, the sub will join the Black Sea Fleet and further bolster Moscow's naval presence in the region. "We expect that the Rostov-on-Don, following sea trials in the Baltic and Barents seas under its own power, will come to Sevastopol at the end of the year," a Black Sea Fleet representative said at the ceremony. "In the next two years, six submarines of this type will be built for the Black Sea Fleet," he added. Russia has shown a renewed strategic interest in...

BRUSSELS – NATO's secretary general said Wednesday there are "no signs" Russia is respecting its commitments over Ukraine, and that the U.S.-led alliance will consider what to do next.

(Reuters) - Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas urged NATO on Friday to establish a permanent presence in the Baltic state in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine, telling his allies to "open your eyes and stay awake".

Russia is secretly working with environmental groups campaigning against fracking in an attempt to maintain Europe's dependence on energy imports from Moscow, the secretary-general of Nato has said. Speaking at the Chatham House foreign affairs think-tank in London, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia was mounting a sophisticated disinformation campaign aimed at undermining attempts to exploit alternative energy sources such as shale gas. He said: "I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organisations - environmental organisations working against shale gas - to maintain European dependence...