2006 Riga summit

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Riga summit
Riga summit logo
Host countryLatvia
Dates28–29 November 2006
Venue(s)Olympic Sports Centre

The 2006 Riga summit or the 19th NATO Summit was a

2008 Bucharest Summit. This summit was the first NATO summit held on the territory of the Baltic states
.

Security measures

Security measures in the streets of Riga.

The summit was held in the Olympic Sports Centre, Riga. Roads in the center of Riga were closed down and parking was not allowed at the airport or at several roads, out of fear of car bombs.[3] About 9000 Latvian police officers and soldiers took care of the Summit's security, while more than 450 other airmen from seven European NATO countries were called upon to ensure a no-fly zone above the summit in an operation called Operation Peaceful Summit. This enhanced ongoing Baltic Air Policing activities with additional aircraft, communications and maintenance support.[4]

Summit

All agreements were not actually made in the North Atlantic Council meeting, but in fact, it was made in the Istanbul Summit, 2003, except for the signing of the missile defense contract which happened on 28 November. The Council meeting was held on 29 November.

Main topics

While the tensions between NATO members from the build-up to the

war in Afghanistan, and the other concerning whether or not NATO should assume a more global role.[5]

War in Afghanistan

Helmand province
, Afghanistan. The need for more troops in the south of the country was a major discussion point of the summit

Before and during the summit US president

Afghanistan, remove the national caveats (i.e. national restrictions on how, when and where forces can be used) and start sending its troops into the conflict-ridden south of the country.[6][7] According to Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General James L. Jones it was not the lack of combat troops and the caveats were the problem, but the lack of adequate helicopters and military intelligence to support airlift and on-the-ground operations.[2]

While the NATO countries in question refused to participate in the fighting in the south, they agreed to remove some of these national caveats, and in an emergency situation, all national caveats should cease to exist, meaning that every ally should come to the aid of the forces that require assistance.

Yugoslav Wars
in the 1990s.

Political scientist Joseph Nye commented that "while the Riga summit relaxed some of these caveats to allow assistance to allies in dire circumstances, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, and the US are doing most of the fighting in southern Afghanistan, while French, German, and Italian troops are deployed in the quieter north. It is difficult to see how NATO can succeed in stabilizing Afghanistan unless it is willing to commit more troops and give commanders more flexibility."[11] The controversy surrounding the differences in contributions to Afghanistan indeed remained after the summit. For instance, in March 2007, British commanders accused the NATO members that refused to fight in the conflict-ridden south (in non-emergency situations) of causing "huge resentment" and a sense of betrayal and undermined the credibility of the alliance. They added that despite the earlier pleas for reinforcements or to have "operational caveats" removed, some countries, notably France and Germany, were still not heeding their requests.[12]

Besides the above discussion about contributions and caveats, the summit was noticed to paint an optimistic picture of the war in Afghanistan and Afghanistan's future.[9] For instance, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that "real progress" had been made in Afghanistan and that this was the main highlight of the summit. He strongly disagreed with visions of "doom and gloom," and added that five years after the defeat of the Taliban regime, Afghanistan had become a democratic society that is "no longer a threat to the world." He also believed that the defeat of the insurgency was only a matter of time, stating that the war in Afghanistan "is winnable, it is being won, but it is not yet won because, of course, we have many challenges in Afghanistan." In his opinion, these challenges included besides military engagement mainly reconstruction and development work.[13]

Role of NATO

NATO heads of state and government stand for the official portrait at the 2006 NATO Summit.

The second, more fundamental rift, concerned a discussion about whether NATO should form close relationships with countries far beyond NATO's borders, in particular Australia, Japan and South Korea.

clash of civilisations."[5] The summit did not reach a satisfying consensus on the future role of NATO and it was considered an exercise in "papering over cracks", much more than it was ever a serious effort to decide on the future borders and core purposes. As a consequence, the debate continued after the summit.[2]

Other topics

Kosovo

At the Riga summit, NATO members confirmed the role of NATO-led KFOR in ensuring a stable security environment there.[16][17] This is perceived to be a reference to the possible United Nations decision in favour of independence. Because Serbia strongly opposes the break-away of Kosovo, the resulting tensions between Serbia and Kosovo could create instability in the region.

Enhanced cooperation with non-members

Enhanced cooperation with non-member states closer at home was less controversial and two offers were made: an extension of Partnership for Peace membership, and a training initiative.

  • Partnership for Peace (PfP) membership was offered to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. NATO hoped that this would bring these countries more into the Euro-Atlantic community as the PfP is a programme of practical bilateral cooperation between individual Partner countries and NATO, thereby allowing Partner countries to choose their own priorities for cooperation.[18] It is expected that PfP membership is for these three countries the first step towards NATO membership. As a result, the PfP offer sparked the anger of the UN tribunal trying suspected war criminals from the Balkans.[10]
  • NATO launched a Training Cooperation Initiative offering to share NATO training expertise with its Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) countries (Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel and Jordan) and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) countries.[19] The initial phase included expanding those countries' participation in relevant existing NATO training and education programmes, and the establishment of a Middle East faculty at the NATO Defense College in Rome. As a second phase, NATO would consider supporting the establishment of a Security Cooperation Centre in the region, to be owned by the MD and ICI countries, with regional funding and NATO assistance. Senior NATO staff have tended to highlight this project as evidence of NATO's forward-thinking and its desire to avoid becoming a party to a "clash of civilizations".[2]

Comprehensive Political Guidance

failing states, regional crises, misuse of new technologies, and disruption of the flow of vital resources. According to this document, the Alliance should adapt to these new threats and set out the Alliance vis-a-vis capability issues, planning disciplines and intelligence for the next 10 to 15 years, including among others the need for joint expeditionary forces and the capability to deploy and sustain them over long periods of time.[22] The document further underlined that NATO's forces should be able to conduct a variety of missions, from high to low intensity, and emphasized the likelihood that NATO will need to carry out a greater number and range of smaller operations. The CPG also confirmed the principle that 40% of the member states' military forces must be re-deployable, and 8% must constantly be on operations abroad.[16]
This principle makes it, among other things, possible to effectively compare the contributions made by various states, irrespective of the size of their populations.

The CPG policy document is regarded as self-contradictory for at least two reasons. Firstly, it identified the two greatest threats to NATO as terrorism and the proliferation of

collective defence remains the core purpose of NATO, but at the same time emphasizes potential NATO contributions to conflict prevention and crisis management, and the potential planning and management of missions like that in Afghanistan. The Riga Declaration even described the capability for such missions as NATO's "top priority".[2] Additionally, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer wanted and expected a new Strategic Concept to be debated and agreed upon by 2008, reinforcing already existing views that the CPG will most likely last much less than the 10 to 15 years as the guiding policy document.[23]

Energy security

There was debate over the reasons for Vladimir Putin's absence from the conference

The Riga summit was the first NATO summit that underscored the need for

French president Jacques Chirac, who was at the summit and whose 74th birthday coincided with the summit, by visiting Latvia. He later made clear that this would not go ahead.[24]

2008 membership invitations

The NATO Heads of State and Government congratulated the efforts of the three Balkan states currently in NATO's

Orange revolution coalition following the Ukraine's parliamentary elections of March 2006.[27] In other words, Ukraine showed more ambivalence in its desire to join NATO, whereas in Georgia the pro-Western Rose Revolution
coalition remained united.

NATO Response Force

NATO Secretary-General

disaster management, counterterrorism, and acting as "an initial entry force") and can number up to 25,000 troops and should be able to start to deploy after five days' notice and sustain itself for operations lasting 30 days or longer if resupplied.[29]
The heads of state and government also agreed to share the costs of airlift for the short notice deployments of the Response Force.

2010 Theatre Missile Defence

In September 2006, NATO selected an international consortium led by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to build an Integration Test Bed for the Alliance's future Active Layered Theatre Missile Defence (ALTBMD) capability. After two months of negotiations, ALTBMD Programme Manager, General (Ret) Billard, and SAIC contracting Officer, Mr. Robert Larrick, signed the contract on the first day of NATO's Riga Summit.[30] This decision was based on an unpublished report agreed upon earlier by NATO ministers following a study into the feasibility of theatre missile defences.[2]

This programme is one of three programmes that NATO is pursuing in the area of missile defence. The contract puts the Alliance on track for having, by 2010, a system to protect troops on missions against

interceptors. While NATO member countries would provide the sensors and weapon systems, NATO itself would develop a commonly funded NATO architecture to integrate all of these elements. The development of the ALTBMD system was agreed by NATO members in large part because it is limited. NATO members are deeply divided about the multi-tiered BMD architecture promoted by the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA).[2]

Views on the summit

For the three formerly Soviet-occupied states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania such a high-level event was held for the first time in the region. As a consequence, it held symbolic meaning.[16] It is perceived to have increased the visibility of these three Baltic states as NATO members.

References

  1. ^ Mitropolitski, S. (November 2006). "NATO summit: Border with Russia is (almost) drawn". Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i M. BUCHER, "NATO, Riga and Beyond" in Disarmament policy, (2007), 84, NATO, Riga and Beyond | Acronym Institute Archived 2 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ I-LATVIA, NATO Summit in Riga, 2006 Archived 8 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ L. NEIDINGER "NATO team ensures safe sky during Riga Summit" in Air Force Link, 8 December 2006, U.S. Air Force – Mobile Archived 10 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Reynolds, Paul (27 November 2006). "Nato looks for global role". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
  6. ^ X, "NATO and Nuclear Weapons" in Disarmament Policy, 29 November 2006, Can NATO transform for the 21st century? | Acronym Institute Archived 5 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^
    The Financial Times, 29 November 2006, Nato makes limited progress on troops – FT.com Archived 16 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ NATO, NATO boosts efforts in Afghanistan, 30 November 2006 Archived 27 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b c d Lobjakas, Ahto (29 November 2006). "Afghanistan: NATO Summit Stresses 'Progress'". Riga: RFE/RL. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
  10. ^ a b Agence France-Presse, "Afghanistan being won: NATO" in The Daily Telegraph, 30 November 2006, [1] [dead link]
  11. ^ Nye, J. (14 December 2006). "NATO after Riga" Archived 27 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ T. HARDING, "Do your fair share in Afghanistan, Nato told" in The Daily Telegraph, 10 March 2007, News – Latest breaking UK news – Telegraph[dead link]
  13. ^ Closing press conference by NATO Secretary-General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ BBC News, Nato looks for global role, 27 November 2006, BBC NEWS | Europe | Nato looks for global role Archived 4 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Briefing on NATO Issues Prior to Riga Summit
  16. ^ a b c X, NATO – The Way to Riga and onward, 2006 Archived 20 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ a b c NATO, Riga Summit Declaration, 29 November 2006 Archived 12 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ NATO, Alliance offers partnership to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, 30 November 2006, [2] Archived 5 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ NATO, NATO launches training initiative for Mediterranean and Middle East, 30 November 2006, [3] Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ NATO, Comprehensive Political Guidance, 29 November 2006 Archived 14 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  21. Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, 28 December 2006, [4] Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ NATO,, 30 November 2006, "NATO sets priorities for new capabilities for next 15 years" Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ J. DE HOOP SCHEFFER, Lesson Learned: NATO Must Shape Up For The 21st century, 43rd Munich Security Conference, 10 February 2007.
  24. ^
    Radio Free Europe, Afghanistan: NATO Summit Stresses "Progress", 29 November 2006, Afghanistan: NATO Summit Stresses 'Progress' Archived 14 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ S. CASTLE, "Call for unity among Nato in Afghanistan" in The Independent, 29 November 2006, [5] Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ NATO, New countries could be invited to join NATO in 2008, 30 November 2006, [6] Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ T. KUZIO, "Georgia outshines Ukraine at recent NATO summit in Riga" in German Marshall Fund, 20 December 2006, [7] Archived 31 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ NATO, NATO Response Force declared fully operational, 30 November 2006, [8] Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ The NATO Response Force At the centre of NATO transformation Archived 9 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ NATO, NATO on track for 2010 theatre missile defence, 30 November 2006, [9] Archived 26 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine

External links

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