U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo H. Daalder talks about partnerships and the NATO Summit in Chicago, May 20-21, 2012.
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NATO Summit in Chicago: Defense Capabilities
About the Author: Robert G. Bell is the Senior Civilian Representative of the Secretary of Defense in Europe (SECDEFREPEUR) and the Defense Advisor (DEFAD) to the U.S. Ambassador to NATO.
President Barack Obama and the other NATO leaders will meet in Chicago this weekend, and one of the issues they plan to highlight is their continued commitment to defense capabilities.
When we talk about capabilities in a military alliance like NATO, we are talking about the “hardware” that make up a military: the fighter jets, helicopters, ships, and other systems that are the true “pointy end of the sphere” in a modern military. Capabilities also include some less obvious things that allow our soldiers and sailors to do what we need them to do, like reconnaissance technology, secure computer networks, and the heavy-lifting ships and cargo aircraft that let us not only do what we need to do, but also where we need to do it.
The United States and our 27 NATO Allies make up the most effective alliance in human history. If the men and women of its armed forces… more »
