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| Updated: 16-Nov-2006 | NATO Speeches |
NATO HQ, 16 Nov. 2006 |
Taking stock of NATO operations Video interview with the Supreme Allied Commander Europe,
INTERVIEWER: We're speaking today to General James L. Jones, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of Allied Command Operations. General Jones, thank you for taking time to speak to us today. GENERAL JAMES L. JONES (Supreme Allied Commander Europe): It's a pleasure to be here.
GENERAL JONES: Well I think this is an important meeting with the Chiefs in order to frame the main issues that Heads of State will discuss at the Riga Summit, notably our operational commitments to Afghanistan, Kosovo, our training mission in Iraq, our operations in the Mediterranean, the assistance mission in Ethiopia. So operationally we have a lot to talk about and of course Afghanistan is the number one subject. Q: It's been a month since the International Security Assistance Force expanded to stage four. What's the current state of play of NATO's operations in Afghanistan? GENERAL JONES: Well I think it's a remarkable time for the Alliance. For the first time NATO is now in charge of security and stability in the country and we're attempting to formulate a relationship between what goes on in the military and what happens in the immediate aftermath of military operations such as reconstruction and development. Generally speaking what's happened in Afghanistan was predictable. We knew that the south was going to be more difficult and we knew we would be tested militarily and we were. We survived that test I think rather well and now we are pressing on with the goal of showing the people of Afghanistan that good things happen with the Karzai government; more reconstruction, more development, more schools, more roads, more wells, more electricity, better governance and all of those things. Q: The recommendations on Kosovo's future status are due soon. What preparations, if any, are NATO's Kosovo force making for the period following the release of the report? GENERAL JONES: Well Kosovo... the Kosovo force is really one of our success stories. Since 2004 the force has been completely transformed. It's better organised, it's better equipped, it's better trained. We have been able to remove virtually all of the operational national restrictions called caveats that we had in 2003. We have removed all of the national boundaries. We have now a task force concept where forces can move about the country at the Commander's wishes. We are better trained for crowd and riot control, which is the principal threat. We have much better relations with the people of the various communities, both Kosovar Serbs and Albanians. KFOR is the most respected organisation in Kosovo today by both sides, so it's a good state of affairs and we hope that it continues that way. Q: Indeed. Well here we are just 10 days away from the Riga Summit. What's the overall tone of NATO's operations? GENERAL JONES: Well I think the overall tone in NATO is positive. Certainly if one steps back and looks at the last three or four years and sees where NATO is today and where it was just four or five years ago, it's a remarkable statement I think that the Alliance is not only healthy and vibrant, but expanding making a contribution to our collective security. I think Riga will yield a number of things, certainly not the least of which is the statement probably that the Alliance doors are still open for expansion for countries that meet the standard, that the Alliance is committed to a greater sense of collective security, but in different parts of the world. We're certainly going to get into special forces as a component of NATO's kit if you will. We have stood up the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre in the U.K. which is yielding great dividends. The NRF hopefully will be fully operational and capable if we get some more force contributions. So there's a lot of excitement going into the summit and we hope that the outcome will be equally as exciting. Q: You mentioned the NRF. How close is it to being fully operational, achieving full operational capability? GENERAL JONES: Well the NATO Response Force, known as the NRF, is one of the Prague Summit's most transformational creations. It's a vision really of how the Alliance wishes to proceed in terms of its military capability. For the first time ever we are achieving a military capability of integrating air, land, sea and special forces under one operational commander with the express purpose of being able to move out very quickly within five days of receipt of mission. This is an extraordinary goal for 26 countries to try to put together. Each rotation lasts six months and each rotation in size is roughly 25,000 soldier, sailor, airmen and marines and special forces. This is not an easy thing to do and we are really in the final throes of raising the force; of having nations commit the forces required in order to be able to say we are now fully operationally capable. One of the main topics of this Chiefs of Defence meeting that I'm attending right now is to put the final touches on and to raise the final contributions. If we get those and I'm very hopeful and confident that we will, then the Heads of State can take great pride at this summit of having brought to fruition the vision of their forbearers if you will at the Prague Summit of 2002. So it's a very exciting time and it's very important that we reach this goal. Q: What is your primary message in the lead-up to the Riga Summit? What do you hope to see come out of it? GENERAL JONES: Well I hope that the publics on both sides of the Atlantic, or actually in the world, will understand that NATO is not the 20th century NATO. This is a 21st century NATO that is turning fully to meet the challenges of this very dynamic and very difficult century from a security standpoint. NATO is going to have to face looking at the asymmetric world and deciding what its role is going to be. Such things as energy security for example. NATO's role in assuring the security of our critical infrastructures. Things like that are really topical issues that the Alliance will have to face in the future, in addition to completing and continuing the transformation that started at the Prague Summit in 2002. So it's a very dynamic time. We have to explain ourselves better; our strategic messaging has to be better; we have to convince our publics that NATO is relevant to their collective security and we have to answer those questions. At the same time we have to continue to execute a wide variety of missions in different parts of the globe that is really something that's extraordinary if you consider NATO's original raison d'être so to speak. Q: General Jones one last question. During your tenure as SACEUR, how have you seen NATO forces' capabilities and operations change? GENERAL JONES: Well we have reacted during my tenure to the guidance of the Prague Summit of 2002 and the Istanbul Summit of 2004. Both summits gave me, as an operational commander, very, very good guidances... which way the Alliance wished to proceed and in that context we have reformed the NATO command structure. The NRF is very close to full operational capability. We're literally inches from scoring a major victory. We've expanded our missions in the world. We have expanded the Alliance by seven great countries who are making a wonderful contribution. All of those things, the foray into special forces, the NATO Intelligence Centre. We're looking into multi-national logistics. We're certainly more inter-operable. We're forming new partnerships with the Mediterranean Dialogue countries - seven nations, five of whom are on the North African littoral. We have relationships with other countries. For example, tomorrow we'll be visited at SHAPE by the Chief of Staff of the Pakistani military for the first time. This is really the 21st century NATO. It is relevant. It is important for the security of our people and it is going to do great things. Q: General, it's been a pleasure and a great privilege talking to you and the best of luck for the road to Riga. |
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