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NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Saturday laid outpriorities for the upcoming Chicago summit of the alliance, pushingfor new commitments to Afghanistan and smart defense as a way todeal with fiscal restraints facing many NATO allies. Speaking at a public diplomacy event in Chicago, Rasmussen said thesummit will be about the alliance's future cooperation withAfghanistan, capabilities of the bloc as well as its cooperationwith other partner countries around the world. Rasmussen said the summit will take stock of progress inAfghanistan, and make sure it will not be a safe haven forterrorists. He praised progress made by Afghan forces, which will take overcommand of combat missions next year and all securityresponsibilities by the end of 2014, when most foreign troops wouldbe withdrawn. Rasmussen said NATO will continue to stand "shoulder to shoulder"with Afghanistan beyond 2014, and leaders will "align ourcommitments in Chicago." The United States, which hosts the summit, has also indicated thatcommitments to Afghanistan beyond 2014 is a priority at thegathering of the 28 NATO members and 22 non-NATO countries thatcontribute troops to the NATO-led International Security andAssistance Force in Afghanistan. U.S. President Barack Obama signed a Strategic PartnershipAgreement with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, earlier thismonth, and expects other partners to follow suit. However, other countries may not be able to make such sweepingcommitments to Kabul. France's new President Francois Hollande hassaid he will honor his campaign pledge to withdraw all Frenchforces by the end of this year, although experts have noted it islogistically difficult, given the limited time left. Luke Coffey, a security expert with the Heritage Foundation, saidthe NATO allies may not be able to resolve future assistance toAfghanistan in Chicago. Instead, they may pave the way foragreement at an international conference on Afghanistan in Tokyo inJuly. Rasmussen also called for more international help, sayingAfghanistan needs support from the international community inreconstruction and institution building. NATO leaders are meeting at a time of great fiscal restraints,especially in debt-ridden European allies. Rasmussen acknowledgedthat paying for capabilities NATO needs in the future is not easy,and he identified smart defense -- essentially pooling capabilitiesin light of shrinking defense budgets -- as a way to deal with thecurrent situation. Rasmussen said the Chicago summit will adopt smart defense as anapproach to make sure that NATO has the modern capabilities itneeds for the coming decade and beyond. Over 50 heads of state and government are convening Sunday andMonday in Chicago for the summit, with the issue of Afghanistan andNATO's future dominating the agenda. NATO traditionally holds its summits in Europe. The Chicago summitis the first on American soil in 13 years. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Vector Art Services Manufacturer , China Custom Embroidery Patch, and more. For more , please visit Embroidery Design Digitizing today!
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