CHAIR JOINT CHIEFS SUMMARIZES NATO LITHUANIA MEETINGS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, center, talks with Army Gen. John Campbell, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, right, between sessions of the NATO Military Committee conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, held Sept. 20-21, 2014. DoD photo by D. Myles Cullen.  
Dempsey Recaps NATO Meetings in Lithuania
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2014 – Russia’s continuing aggression in Ukraine, vulnerabilities posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other threats along NATO’s southern borders, and the alliance’s continuing commitments in Afghanistan were the chief topics in meetings with NATO’s chiefs of defense in Vilnius, Lithuania, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
In a statement summarizing the meetings, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey added that today’s agreement between Afghanistan’s presidential candidates to form a new national unity government “puts us in a much better place than we were a week ago.”

“Now we need a signed security agreement and a NATO [status of forces agreement], both of which should be accomplished fairly quickly,” Dempsey said. The agreements are necessary for U.S. and NATO forces to have a role in Afghanistan beyond the current mission, which ends Dec. 31, and both candidates said during the election process that they would sign the agreements.
The chiefs of defense also elected Gen. Petr Pavel, the chief of staff of the Czech Republic's armed forces, to be the next chairman of the NATO Military Committee, the chairman said. “His appointment is significant, because he will be the first Eastern European military leader to take the job,” he added.
Pavel will take the post in July, succeeding Danish Gen. Knud Bartels, whom Dempsey called “a trusted friend.”

NATO STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN WITH AFGHANISTAN GOVERNMENT

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
NATO Begins SOFA Negotiations with Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2013 – NATO began Status of Forces Agreement negotiations with the government of Afghanistan, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Adm. John Kirby said in a statement issued today.
Kirby’s statement reads as follows:

“Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was pleased to learn that NATO has begun negotiations with the Government of Afghanistan on the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

“NATO's decision to move forward with negotiations on a SOFA is yet another demonstration of the international community's willingness to support Afghanistan after 2014.

“But, as both the NATO Secretary General and Secretary Hagel have made clear, the Alliance won't finalize their agreement with the Bilateral Security Agreement still hanging in the balance. The message of the United States and its allies in Europe is clear: the Bilateral Security Agreement should be signed without any more delay.”

U.S.-KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS SIGN STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT FOR TERRITORIES IN THE CARIBBEAN

Molen van Sloten (the Sloten Windmill), on the outskirts of Amsterdam, is a still-functioning polder-draining mill. Dating from 1847, the mill can pump 60,000 liters of water per minute from the polder.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Signing Ceremony for the U.S.-Kingdom of the Netherlands Status of Forces Agreement for Territories in the Caribbean

Remarks
Andrew J. Shapiro
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
Washington, DC
October 19, 2012
I am delighted to be here today and would like to thank all of you for coming for what is an important day for the United States, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the people of the Dutch Caribbean. As the Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, I am particularly delighted to be signing the new U.S.-Dutch Caribbean Status of Forces Agreement today with Ambassador Rudolf Bekink of the Netherlands.

There are few agreements that demonstrate the closeness of diplomatic relations between countries better than a Status of Forces Agreement. SOFAs provide a critical framework for countries to cooperate together on security issues and enable countries to further build and strengthen their defense relationships. This is important because when countries can work together and cooperate in the area of national defense – one of the most sensitive and critical areas for any nation – we find that they can work together on almost any issue. Therefore, the agreement that we are about to sign is not just a clear demonstration of the closeness of the defense relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but of the strength of our overall bilateral relationship.

While our two countries have enjoyed strong relations for decades, this agreement, like the Status of Forces Agreements that have preceded it, updates and revalidates what is already a very strong partnership. By enabling our countries to continue to build our defense cooperation, I am confident that this Status of Forces Agreement will further strengthen the overall relationship between our countries.

The U.S. and the Kingdom of the Netherlands share many common interests in the Caribbean and we already enjoy an extensive network of agreements and treaties that allows our countries to work together for our mutual benefit. This new agreement importantly ensures continuing access to a safe but challenging tropical environment in which our forces can train together and conduct joint exercises.

But beyond the shared strategic value of this agreement to both the U.S. and the Kingdom, there are practical benefits offered by our close friendship as well. This agreement will also provide substantial economic benefits to the people of the Dutch Caribbean itself. These benefits will come from visits by U.S. ships, as well as from joint exercises and training activities in the Caribbean that we expect will bring between three and four million dollars annually to the economies of the Dutch Caribbean islands.

It is for all of these reasons that I am proud to represent the United States today in signing this very important agreement. The agreement is a clear demonstration of the strength of the strategic partnership between the U.S. and the Kingdom of the Netherlands and will, I believe, be of great strategic and economic benefit to the United States and to the Dutch Caribbean.