Strasbourg Summit News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

While German-American relations have improved in tone from thethinly veiled hostility of Gerhard Schroeder's chancellorship, allis not perfect between recently re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkeland President Obama. German troops in Afghanistan sit on thesidelines while American and British soldiers fight and die;Germany actively pursues trade with Iran, opposing toughersanctions on the terror regime; Berlin and Moscow are becomingdisconcertingly cozy; and Merkel supports a separate EU defenseforce at the expense of Germany's NATO commitments.

In the post-9/11 world, NATO faces an evolving set of challengesand threats, including terrorism, ballistic missile attack,cyberterrorism, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction aswell as traditional military challenges. NATO members should agreeto new burden-sharing rules, including commitments to increasedefense spending and to reduce national operational caveats, andreadmit France into its integrated military command structures withconditions.

Macedonia has more than earned its place in the NATO alliance.

In the post-9/11 world, NATO faces an evolving set of challengesand threats, including terrorism, ballistic missile attack,cyberterrorism, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction aswell as traditional military challenges. NATO members should agreeto new burden-sharing rules, including commitments to increasedefense spending and to reduce national operational caveats, andreadmit France into its integrated military command structures withconditions.