US taking step to get Albania, Croatia into NATO & Gates: Military working to curb domestic violence & Rice dismisses Iranian opposition to US-Iraq pact

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

US taking step to get Albania, Croatia into NATO


http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/NATO-Secretary-General-Jaap-de-Hoop-S...

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, right, meets NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, inside …

WASHINGTON – The United States is taking another step toward getting formerly communist Albania and Croatia folded into the NATO alliance.
President Bush planned to meet Friday with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and sign so-called accession protocols paving the way for the two Balkan countries' final membership in the military alliance..
The White House invited to the signing ceremony about 160 lawmakers, members of the diplomatic corps, the U.S. ambassadors to Albania and Croatia, and members of Albanian-American and Croatian-American groups.
NATO leaders agreed at a summit earlier this year in Romania to invite Albania and Croatia into the alliance. However, the alliance rebuffed U.S. attempts to begin the process of inviting Ukraine and Georgia, both former Soviet republics, to join. Despite strong U.S. backing to bring them in, Germany, France and some other alliance members opposed the move, fearing it would provoke Russia.
The idea of NATO enlargement on its doorstep has irked the Russians.
Ties between Russia and NATO members have been further strained by the Georgia-Russia conflict. The war erupted in August when Georgia launched an attack to regain control over South Ossetia, which broke from Georgian control in the early 1990s. Russian forces swiftly repelled the attack and drove deep into Georgia.
Albania and Croatia will be eligible to join NATO when all 26 allies have ratified the accession protocols. Slovakia and Hungary have ratified them to date. NATO officials hope Albania and Croatia will be able to participate as full members at next year's summit.


Gates: Military working to curb domestic violence

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – The military is working to ease the stigma for soldiers seeking help with domestic problems, which have been blamed for the deaths of four North Carolina military women this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.
Gates said this year's defense budget includes $900 million for work to end domestic violence, which can be exacerbated by multiple stressful deployments. He also said the military is working to slow the pace of deployments so troops can spend more time at home and less time in war zones.
Three female soldiers have been killed in Fayetteville, the city adjacent to Fort Bragg, since June and a female Marine was killed earlier this year in Jacksonville, the home of Camp Lejeune. In each case, a spouse or boyfriend in the military has been charged with murder.
Gates, who visited Fort Bragg and attended a citizenship ceremony at nearby Pope Air Force, said he receives monthly reports on domestic violence. Soldiers are also being trained to monitor stress that could cause violent episodes.
"One of the biggest issues we're trying to deal with is trying to remove the stigma of seeking help," Gates said. "I think we're making progress, but we have a strong culture."
Gates planned to visit a group of military families before flying back to Washington and said he intended to tell them the military wants to increase "dwell time," the amount of time troops spend at their home bases. The Army is increasing its force by 65,000 soldiers and the Marines are adding 27,000 so there will be more people available to deploy.
Now, troops can expect to deploy for up to a year and then spend a year at home, but the plan is to stretch the dwell time to two years and then eventually three years for active duty military units.
"Our families have not had to deal with, nor have our soldiers, this kind of extended deployments since World War II," Gates said.


Rice dismisses Iranian opposition to US-Iraq pact

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Puerto-Vallarta2C-Mexico-Condoleezza-...

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, embraces Mexico's Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa …

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed Iran's attempt to quash a proposed security deal between Iraq and the United States but offered no new assurances Thursday that Iraq will eventually accept U.S. terms.
"I think the Iraqis can defend their interests without the Iranians thank you very much — that hasn't been the happiest relationship, ever," Rice said during a brief diplomatic visit to Mexico.
Rice repeated U.S. claims that Iran arms Iraqi militants in their campaign of sectarian violence, and brushed off remarks this week from hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that neighboring Iraq can shake off "the influence of foreigners."
"Frankly, I don't take those comments very seriously," Rice said.
The agreement calls for U.S. troops to leave Iraqi cities by the end of June and withdraw from the country by Dec. 31, 2011, unless the government asks them to stay. It would also provide limited Iraqi jurisdiction over U.S. soldiers and contractors accused of major, premeditated crimes committed off post and off duty.
Iraq and Iran fought a devastating eight-year war in the Saddam Hussein era, but the two majority-Shiite nations have a network of close alliances.
Iran, which is close to Shiite parties who dominate Iraq's government, has repeatedly expressed its opposition to any security deal that allows American forces to remain in Iraq.
The Iraqi prime minister, who is a Shiite, fears he could end up politically isolated if he pushes forward with the agreement without solid backing. He has also tried to reassure Iran that an agreement for ongoing U.S. military operations in Iraq does not give the United States a launching pad for any attack on Iran.
Iraq's Cabinet decided Tuesday to ask the U.S. for changes to the draft agreement as key Shiite lawmakers warned the deal stands little chance of approval as it stands. The decision also raised doubts that the agreement can be ratified before a new American president is elected next month.
Senior defense officials have repeatedly said that the U.S. is still focusing its efforts on getting the agreement signed, rather than pursuing an extension of the existing U.N. mandate that gives U.S. and coalition troops the authority to be in Iraq.
Navy Capt. John Kirby on Thursday dismissed Iraqi criticism of Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who warned that time was running out for Iraq to sign the security pact.
Kirby, Mullen's spokesman, said the chairman "stands by his comments and his desire to see this agreement move forward expeditiously."
Iraqi officials had suggested that Mullen's strong comments on Wednesday were not welcome, since all Iraqis recognize the importance of the pact.
If the Iraqi Parliament fails to approve the draft before the U.N. mandate expires Dec. 31, there would be no legal basis for the U.S.-led military mission to stay on. This in turn could force hard decisions in Baghdad and Washington on the future of the unpopular war.
"I have not spoken with the negotiators today. I know the work continues within the Iraqi political space," Rice said. "This is a good agreement. It's an agreement that both protects our forces and allows us to continue to support the Iraqis as they consolidate the gains they have made on the security side and it is totally respectful of Iraqi sovereignty."
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Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.

Iraqui neighbor Iran will be pulled into the war if US gets it's way, now accusing them of nuclear weapons, the way that Iraq was accused to be able to start a war there.
El Barad​ei:​ Iran far from acqui​ring nucle​ar weapo​n
Babak​ Yekta​far:​ El Barad​ei'​s state​ment will not chang​e minds​ of those​ who want to confr​ont Iran (Will lack of materials stop them, or will Russia provide it for them?)