Jigs
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Saturday, November 20, 2010
LISBON, Portugal Daily News with wires
President Abdullah Gül said Saturday that Turkey was "quite happy" with NATO's agreement to build a missile shield over Europe after the alliance met Ankara's demands not to name Iran as a threat.
NATO leaders on Friday agreed to build a missile shield over Europe, an ambitious commitment to protect against an Iranian attack while demonstrating the alliance's continuing relevance but at the risk of further aggravating Russia.
An alliance member that maintains close ties to neighboring Iran, Turkey had refused to let NATO name Tehran as a threat. At the Lisbon summit, NATO leaders did not explicitly identify any potential enemy, although Iran is its main concern.
We had some concerns before, Gül told journalists late Friday after several hours of meetings and a working dinner with other leaders. But now we are quite happy with the results.
On another major issue, U.S. President Barack Obama and the allies are expected to announce plans on Saturday to begin handing off security responsibility in Afghanistan to local forces next year and to complete the transition by the end of 2014, The Associated Press reported.
That end date is three years beyond the time that Obama has said he will start withdrawing U.S. troops, and the challenge is to avoid a rush to the exits as public opinion turns more sharply against the war and Afghan President Hamid Karzai pushes for greater Afghan control.
While celebrating Friday's missile shield decision, Obama also made a renewed pitch for Senate ratification back in the U.S. of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, asserting that Europeans believe rejection of the deal would hurt their security and damage relations with the Russians.
Two key unanswered questions about the missile shield will it work and can the Europeans afford it? were put aside for the present in the interest of celebrating the agreement as a boost for NATO solidarity.
"It offers a role for all of our allies," Obama told reporters Friday. "It responds to the threats of our times. It shows our determination to protect our citizens from the threat of ballistic missiles." He did not mention Iran by name, acceding to the wishes of Turkey, which had threatened to block the deal if its neighbor was singled out.
The Turkish president praised Obama's role in the negotiations. The U.S. leader helped to formulate a right vision for NATO that is considerate to the concerns of all members, Gül said Friday.
Under the arrangement, a limited system of U.S. anti-missile interceptors and radars already planned for Europe to include interceptors in Romania and Poland and possibly a radar in Turkey would be linked to expanded European-owned missile defenses. That would create a broad system that protects every NATO country against medium-range missile attack.
LISBON, Portugal Daily News with wires
President Abdullah Gül said Saturday that Turkey was "quite happy" with NATO's agreement to build a missile shield over Europe after the alliance met Ankara's demands not to name Iran as a threat.
NATO leaders on Friday agreed to build a missile shield over Europe, an ambitious commitment to protect against an Iranian attack while demonstrating the alliance's continuing relevance but at the risk of further aggravating Russia.
An alliance member that maintains close ties to neighboring Iran, Turkey had refused to let NATO name Tehran as a threat. At the Lisbon summit, NATO leaders did not explicitly identify any potential enemy, although Iran is its main concern.
We had some concerns before, Gül told journalists late Friday after several hours of meetings and a working dinner with other leaders. But now we are quite happy with the results.
On another major issue, U.S. President Barack Obama and the allies are expected to announce plans on Saturday to begin handing off security responsibility in Afghanistan to local forces next year and to complete the transition by the end of 2014, The Associated Press reported.
That end date is three years beyond the time that Obama has said he will start withdrawing U.S. troops, and the challenge is to avoid a rush to the exits as public opinion turns more sharply against the war and Afghan President Hamid Karzai pushes for greater Afghan control.
While celebrating Friday's missile shield decision, Obama also made a renewed pitch for Senate ratification back in the U.S. of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, asserting that Europeans believe rejection of the deal would hurt their security and damage relations with the Russians.
Two key unanswered questions about the missile shield will it work and can the Europeans afford it? were put aside for the present in the interest of celebrating the agreement as a boost for NATO solidarity.
"It offers a role for all of our allies," Obama told reporters Friday. "It responds to the threats of our times. It shows our determination to protect our citizens from the threat of ballistic missiles." He did not mention Iran by name, acceding to the wishes of Turkey, which had threatened to block the deal if its neighbor was singled out.
The Turkish president praised Obama's role in the negotiations. The U.S. leader helped to formulate a right vision for NATO that is considerate to the concerns of all members, Gül said Friday.
Under the arrangement, a limited system of U.S. anti-missile interceptors and radars already planned for Europe to include interceptors in Romania and Poland and possibly a radar in Turkey would be linked to expanded European-owned missile defenses. That would create a broad system that protects every NATO country against medium-range missile attack.
We can not demand something we already have
