Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/337874
In the wake of the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March and continued destabilizing actions along the Ukrainian border, General Philip Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) and Commander of U.S. European Command, addressed the Conference of Defence Associations Institute at the Canadian War Museum in early May. Below are his prepared remarks and excerpts from a lengthy Q&A that followed. N NATO 34 JUNE/JULY 2014 www.vanguardcanada.com A TIME TO TAKE STOCK A s we look back over 13 years of coop- eration in Afghani- stan it is important that we take stock in what we have achieved together and what we must do to prepare ourselves for the future. One of the greatest achievements of the alliance, and a true sym- bol of the strength of the transatlantic bond, took place just last month. Over seven million people turned out to register their vote in Afghanistan as a part of the first legitimate, credible and transparent elections to take place in that country. The successes of these efforts represent the combined efforts, collaboration and cooperation of the alliance and partner nations who have been committed to the region over the last 13 years. After my first year as SACEUR, it is clear to me that we are en- tering a phase of strategic and operational adaptation; adaptation shaped by the end of ISAF and by the rapidly changing global security environment that we are all witnessing play out. Clearly most nations in NATO do not meet it; I think there are five in NATO that meet it right now. This is clearly an individual nation's deci- sion, and nations can contribute in ways other than just a proportion of GDP. Some of our na- tions in Europe do a great job of hosting forces, hosting opportunities, missile defence plat- forms... We have come from a period where we saw Russia as a partner and that came with a certain paradigm in defence spending; we are now in a very, very different time. I think na- tions need to take this aboard and consider it. I think it is reasonable for western nations to want to have ballistic missile defence when we have rogue nations that are developing ballis- tic missiles and developing nuclear capability. We have had a long relationship with some na- tions who deal in strategic and tactical nuclear weapons and you can judge whether you think that has been a fruitful history, but so far we have not employed any of those weapons on each other. But we have nations that are far less experienced and, some would say, less responsible who want to enter this game. As a defender of my country and as a defender of our NATO alliance, I think it is prudent that we look at those capabilities that we have. Then I think we have to have a responsible conversa- tion with Russia to enter into this dialogue, so that we can enter into agreements with China and others who have these capabilities. Let me choose not to make a judgment about that. What I will say is that Canada has been very straightforward and very cooperative in the way that they exited the program to make it easy for us to adapt the program and move forward with it... I would tell you that right now NATO AWAC is doing a superb job in Romania and over Poland and what they are doing to as- sure allies is great, but what they are doing to train with our forces is even better. On Canada's defence spending (1 percent of GDP versus the 2 percent target NATO has set for member nations): On ballistic missile defence: On the effect of Canada's decision to opt out of NATO's AWAC program: The Washington treaty that created NATO in 1949 was driven by a common interest: World War II was over and a new common threat had emerged which united our efforts, on both sides of the Atlantic, and forged a common alliance. As we came to the end of the Cold War, the 1990's were a period of great challenge, more adaptation and, quite frankly, opportunity. This was matched by a robust, creative period of NATO military and policy develop- ment that led to initiatives such as the Combined Joint Task Force concept, Partnership for Peace and the initial moves toward crisis management and the first true out-of-area operations. The 2015 to 2020 period of adaptation will require the same level of innovation, robust ideas and creative redesign of the mili- tary posture to set the alliance on a stable foundation and trajec- tory for the next 15 years. In just the last few weeks, due to Russia's actions, the security en- vironment has changed. But the alliance remains strong. Moscow recognizes the strength and solidarity of the transatlantic bond and our actions to support and reinforce the decisions made by the international community. Russia's aggression in the Ukraine has Photo: Gord Metcalfe