Transatlantic news in brief, January-February 2009
La Lettre Sentinel n°51, April 2009
Language of the original publication: French
Some current news in European and transatlantic affairs, briefly presented and commented on.
• The 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy (annual high-profile gathering of transatlantic leaders and senior officials), was held in early February. This year, it was primarily about the first contact with the new U.S. administration, everyone trying to fathom its position behind the usual platitudes….
• After sending 17 000 additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan, pressure mounts on the European allies to increase their contributions in a war that, according to the director of the EU Institute for Security Studies "is being lost"…
• In the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35 Lightning II) fighter programme, new information on its costs are likely to exacerbate the malaise of the European partners (Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Turkey)...
• This is not without casting doubts on the reliability of repeated assurances by the same British officials during the same series of hearings, especially with regard to the "operational sovereignty" of the future JSFs of Her Majesty…
• The position of President Obama on the issue of missile defence was intensely awaited, especially in Europe. Although imprecise, the first signs sent by the new team all point in the same direction…
• If everyone in Europe has welcomed the announcement of the closure, within one year, of the Guantanamo detention center, agreement is for the moment, far from being unanimous on a possible hosting of prisoners…
• The future boss of the U.S. intelligence community confirmed, during his hearing in the Senate, that the US intelligence services are spying on and trying to manipulate their friends and allies in Europe…
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(Hajnalka Vincze, Transatlantic news in brief, January-February 2009, La Lettre Sentinel n°51, April 2009, 8,500 characters)