Report Lists Perils for Envoys After U.S. Leaves Iraq

Report Lists Perils for Envoys After U.S. Leaves Iraq: "The United States will not be able to protect its diplomats in Iraq adequately if it sticks to the plan to withdraw its last 50,000 troops by December, potentially hindering American efforts to reach out to the Iraqi people, according to a new report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The report, to be released Tuesday, contends that if the Obama administration leaves only a token contingent of troops behind in an advisory role, as currently planned, 'security and political gains could be jeopardized.'

Without thousands of additional soldiers -- a prospect that seems untenable, given political pressures in both countries -- the report recommends rethinking the American civilian presence, which is projected to number 17,000 diplomats, contractors and others in 15 sites in Iraq.

'The administration may be forced to choose between scaling back the diplomatic mission or accepting a degree of physical risk familiar to military personnel but normally unacceptable for diplomats,' said the report by two committee investigators, a copy of which was provided to The New York Times.
On Tuesday, the two top American officials in Iraq, Ambassador James F. Jeffrey and Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the senior American military commander in the country, are scheduled to testify before the Senate about the handover to civilians from soldiers.

In remarks prepared for the hearing, Mr. Jeffrey said that 'gutting our civilian presence' in Iraq would embolden Iran to interfere with its neighbor and destabilize the region. 'The U.S. military has performed admirably,' he said in the statement, 'but they cannot stay forever.'"
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NATO Missile Defense for Europe

NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.