http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/index/ en U.S. Department of State 2009-11-20T23:01:01+00:00 About the Author: Kurt Volker serves as U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO.

President Obama scored a huge success at his first NATO Summit -- a strong sense of transatlantic unity, a common strategy and some significant new contributions on Afghanistan, two new NATO Members, France reintegrating into NATO military structures for the first time since the 1960's, and the decision to write a new NATO strategic concept to focus NATO on the security threats of the future. NATO even picked a new Secretary General -- pretty big stuff.

Getting these kinds of results is the culmination of months of diplomatic efforts -- building trust and consensus with Allies, identifying key challenges (such as training Afghan security forces), pinpointing political obstacles and figuring out how to remove them, working with military and colleagues in NATO's military headquarters and in Afghanistan, and building public support around Europe.

We had teams of people:

• A three-embassy logistics team to put together a massive Summit meeting held by NATO, taking place in both Germany and France.

• A strong interagency team of Washington officials from the State Department, Pentagon, and National Security Council.

• A team of military, DoD civilian, and Foreign Service officers, all with experience in Afghanistan, working out of the U.S. Mission and putting the diplomatic, military, and policy pieces together.

• A team of public diplomacy experts identifying our key messages and using a variety of means -- from videos to blogs to TV, radio, and print interviews to even getting the original NATO Treaty out of the National Archives and across the Atlantic -- to reach out to a wide public audience.

In the days prior to the Summit, we worked country-by-country to nail down contributions of military training teams for the Afghan National Army. And on the day of the Summit itself, there was tremendous anticipation as leaders reached consensus on the selection of NATO's next Secretary General.

Senior officials were called into a side room to strike an agreement on missile defense, while elsewhere diplomats hammered out the final points that sealed the deal on French reintegration.

The public image of a summit often masks an enormous amount of work and productivity that lead to the kind of results we saw in Strasbourg and Kehl.

Read Ambassador Volker's previous entry about the NATO Ministerial in Brussels.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/natos_60th_summit/ 2009-04-07T13:43:40+00:00 Interactive Travel Map | Text the Secretary

About the Author: Kurt Volker serves as U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO.

Meetings at NATO can look like a series of speeches at the table by foreign ministers. With the Secretary General and 28 countries at the table, if each one speaks only once for five minutes, it can take nearly 2 ½ hours to discuss one subject. And the reality can be even longer. But that is just one layer of the event. Another is the work going on around the margins of the room and in the corridors, as senior officials hammer out deals on behalf of their governments.

At one point, working through a particularly difficult issue, some 20 senior diplomats from as many countries were crammed into the ante-room off the main conference room trying out wording to chart a way forward, necks craned to look at one piece of paper in the center of the pod. When they failed to reach a conclusion, they flooded into the main room, as one group, making a great ruckus. The Secretary General then convened ministers-only to negotiate directly – the foreign ministers themselves doing the hard work of diplomacy. Some 200 senior officials milled about in the hallway trying to think up ideas.

In the end, the ministers broke for lunch, wording was formulated, and after agreement was reached, the Secretary General delivered the news to the media.

Another step forward for NATO. A better policy for having been debated. And another example of the United States and European allies working brick by brick to rebuild a stronger, more unified transatlantic community. That’s diplomacy.

Read Ambassador Volker's previous entry about the Secretary's NATO meeting.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/stronger_transatlantic_community/ 2009-03-05T17:46:45+00:00 Interactive Travel Map | Text the Secretary

About the Author: Kurt Volker serves as U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO.

It is remarkable – and heart-warming – to see the enthusiastic reception European allies are giving Secretary Clinton at her first meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers. As we entered NATO headquarters this morning, members of the NATO international staff and national delegations lined the corridor to catch a glimpse of the Secretary and shake hands. At one point, there was spontaneous applause.

What is clear is that America’s determination to re-engage with Europe and rebuild our alliance is met with equal determination, enthusiasm, and good will from Europe to re-engage with America.

This is important because the challenges that confront our NATO family are significant, and it will take all of our solidarity and mutual commitment to meet these challenges effectively together. The situation in Afghanistan, and Pakistan, is at the top of this difficult agenda.

Secretary Clinton’s meeting with our allies takes place exactly 29 days before President Obama meets the NATO leaders for the first time in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany. This is not only the 60th Anniversary of NATO – the most successful alliance in history, for ending the Cold War peacefully and preserving freedom and prosperity for nearly a billion people in Europe and North America – but it is also a chance to re-launch NATO to tackle the security challenges of a new era. And for this, the kind of reception Secretary Clinton received from her NATO colleagues today is a good omen that our transatlantic community is up to the challenge.

Read Ambassador Volker's next entry about the Secretary's meeting with NATO counterparts.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/secretary_clinton_meets_with_nato_counterparts_in_brussels/ 2009-03-05T16:55:45+00:00