10 Years after 9 / 11 NATO future remains uncertain

Meeting in Brussels only a few hours after levels taken, Nick Burns, then US Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, headquarters of the Alliance thought he had to do the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, some to convince the rest of the NATO member countries of America's defense to get. But rather than hesitate to show, he, America's allies immediately voluntarily says their support even before the accident had ROWCOUNT is clear. "It was a great moment of Alliance solidarity in a very tragic day," Burns, recalls the now an international relations Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

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All at once, was the original purpose of NATO both revived and overhauled shown. In fact, a renewed relevance in a cold war world was the attacks on America the Alliance on the basis of the values in the short term. But in the intervening ten years with the global fight against terrorism issues have also added new levels of complexity and new questions about the future of the Alliance.

12, September 2001 as an act of solidarity with Americans after the previous disaster, the allies article 5 - the binding promise of mutual defence of group - called for the first time in history. Originally developed in terms of Russia, article 5 says that all Member States "an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America are an attack against them all." The countries of the United States with the urgency and the energy State. "The expectation was for 50 years, it would be to overthrow that to defend Europe in a war against the Soviet Union the United States, and the irony was that the only time we had invoked per article 5, that the next day, and it for the Europeans was to overthrow, to defend the United States" said Burns.

The reality in the Middle, soon became clear there that the gesture had opened NATO up to a completely different set of challenges than previously had. On the one hand, the enemy was not a country but a group of non-State actors, al-Qaeda. The threat of terror were also allies, United caused by had is based on the term of protection of a geographical location, a new feature. She could not only defend their own territory; to fight the terrorists, they would have to go far above and beyond. "This was NATO's natural evolution after 9 / 11", said Burns. "It became very clear that Europe largely peaceful and safe was in the interests of allies of terrorism directly [and affected were] what was the wars in Afghanistan and the Iraq." "So, quickly became clear that NATO had to go natural geographic area, because the interests of our members were threatened by his outside."

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The threat of terrorism at this moment, more than per a global problem was when that could not successfully be fought by one country alone. Cooperation was importance it through NATO, the United Nations or ad-hoc partnerships. "We live in this age, when all that are really interesting security problems for a State to deal with, too big", says Jeff Lewis, Director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterrey Institute of international studies program East Asia non-proliferation. "So, you have to have cooperation and alliances are an important aspect of cooperation."

Only a month after the World Trade Center and the Pentagon attack, news reports reflected hopeful mood that the tragedy could be an opportunity for rejuvenating the NATO, had been the decline of a common global topic through the last ten years. But as the United States began in October 2001, his campaign against terrorists in Afghanistan Americans, under the leadership of President George W. Bush at first seemed rejection of NATO efforts and take things into their own hands, says Stewart Patrick, Director of international institutions and global governance program at the Council on foreign relations. That changed in 2003, he says, according to the United States decided to invade the Iraq. "It was only partly, because the United States felt pretty thin after the invasion of Iraq, which really open was the United States to the concept of NATO, taking over the ISAF or the international security force in Afghanistan" Patrick says.

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'Don't ask, don't tell' ends, but 'inequity' remains

20 September 2011 Last updated at 01:08 GMT By Kate Dailey BBC News Magazine Michael Holtz served while in a long-term relationship with Stephen Utley
Gay and lesbian members of the US military can now serve openly, as the "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy comes to an end. But does the change in the law mean they can enjoy full equality?
For Megan, an army major in Massachusetts, 20 September has been a long time coming.
The 14-year veteran of the armed forces, lesbian, wife, and mother of two can now stop prevaricating when colleagues ask her about her family.
"I'm sure I appeared standoffish and aloof to a lot of nice people asking simple questions," says Megan. "I don't have to do that anymore."
"Don't ask, don't tell" was introduced in 1993 to replace an outright ban on gays and lesbians in the military, allowing them to serve but only if they stayed in the closet.
Its repeal means that questions like "Who's home with the kids?" and "What did you do this weekend?" are no longer potential career-enders.
Continue reading the main story Introduced by President Bill Clinton in 1993Compromise measure after he tried to repeal the ban on gays in the militaryIts original name in full was 'Don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue'Ended by President Obama, despite Republican oppositionBut the end of DADT hasn't eased all of Megan's nerves. For one, there's no anti-discrimination measure in place for gay service members, meaning there's no legal recourse if they are denied promotions or harassed due to their sexuality.
And Megan's wife of two years, Karen, is not recognised by the military as a legal spouse.
That means Karen (who, like Megan, is using a pseudonym) isn't covered by military health insurance.
She doesn't have a military ID, which grants wives and husbands of heterosexual couples access to the base and the many social and health services offered there.
And she's not guaranteed access to the support networks sponsored by the military to help the spouses of service members.
Life in the shadows
Being a military spouse is the hardest job in the forces, says Dan Choi, a former Army lieutenant and gay rights activist. Aside from the toll that deployment to a war zone can take, military families often move every two or three years, making it difficult for spouses to build their own career.
The DADT policy had sparked protests
To compensate, the military has an admirable support system in place for families. They offer discounted and tax-free household items and groceries at the base stores, provide housing credits or on-base accommodations, and they host social activities designed to improve overall morale.
But the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that denies the right of gay marriage, and Title 10, a part of the military code that spells out who a spouse is and to what services they are entitled, means that same-sex partners won't have access to many of these benefits.
Depending on the will of the base commanders, spouses "may qualify for limited family support, such as access to a deployment support group," says Zeke Turner, spokesperson for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Base commanders can also decide who has access to the service and supplies on base.
Continue reading the main story

I know all of his military buddies and their personalities. I know all of their stories, their family situations, and not a single one of them knows that I even exist”

End Quote Darin Brunstad Military spouse "Health care, housing, the big ones are still out of the reach of many of service members who are legally married but of the same sex," says Mr Turner.
Joyce Raezer, executive director of the National Military Family Association (NMFA), says her group has been meeting with the Department of Defense officials trying to address the inequity.
"The military folks still have to sort out what's law, what can we change through policy, and what is a commander best practice," she says. "Some things will happen very fast," she says, while other changes will require Congressional approval.
Various benefits are still eligible to same-sex spouses, says a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense, such as the death gratuity, group life insurance and the Thrift Savings Plan. And the department is exploring the possibility of extending other benefits, she adds.
NMFA and other non-profits have been working to fill the gaps - for instance, by helping the same-sex spouses of wounded soldiers travel to overseas military hospitals, a cost normally absorbed by the government.
"There will need to be some outreach to those families who, because of 'don't ask, don't tell', have largely been living in the shadows," says Ms Raezer.
A slow march
Those shadows won't disappear with the end of DADT. Children who were told not to talk about their parent's job or their parent's partner will have to learn new rules.
Leading Republicans say they would reintroduce DADT to ensure military cohesion
Families who moved far off base to avoid detection will remain geographically distant even though they're now allowed to participate in social activities.
Couples who have built their entire lives around not being outed are still trying to assess the climate.
When Darin Brunstad's partner was deployed to Iraq, they weren't permitted a public goodbye.
"I had to drop him off far from the main gate, and we had to say our goodbyes quietly, and he had to walk by himself with his pack on his back in the rain," he says.
"He walked through the gates and to the deployment ceremony when everyone else's family was surrounding them. He was by himself."
Now that DADT is ending - a move which opponents fear could undermine military cohesion and disrupt morale - Mr Brunstad could be with his partner at the ceremony when he deploys next year, but he's not sure he will because they fear some hostility.
"The most important thing for me as a partner is that he is safe," says Mr Brunstad. "It's a debate we had every day about when and whether and how he's going to come out after 20th."
Until his partner does come out, Mr Brunstad is now the one who's alone.
"I really have been, to a certain extent, cut out of a very important part of his life," he says.
"I know all of his military buddies and their personalities, I know all of their stories, their family situations, and not a single one of them knows that I even exist."
Not every spouse has been so isolated. Dan LaMott and his partner, a unit commander in the Army National Guard, have been unofficially out for years.
His partner will soon appoint him the unit's family readiness group coordinator, a role designed to keep spouses in the loop during deployments. It's a position usually held by the wife of the unit commander.
"I've been welcomed with open arms," says Mr LaMott. "I start training on the 21st."

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Remains believed to belong to 19-Year-Old Colorado woman found

Published September 07, 2011| Associated Press

KEENESBURG, Colorado - authorities research a field northeast of Denver Wednesday found remains believed to belong to a 19 year woman who disappeared earlier this year after leaving a nightclub, the authorities of Denver, said.

Investigators were awaiting positive identification and cause of death and had to be on the scene through the night. Denver police searched the field near Keenesburg, 40 kilometres from Denver, after receiving a tip, said Lynn Kimbrough, a spokesman for the District of Denver Office of the Attorney General.

Kenia Monge was 24 K Lounge Denver the night of 31 March and was seen later at a gas station about two miles away through 03, Denver police said. His family said that she has left her bag in hand and cell phone Club.

In April, KMGH-TV in Denver reported that a police search warrant said that a man told investigators he gave Monge ride at the service station and sent him a text asking if she was home.

No one was arrested in the case.

One of the Denver police have questioned, but not to pay, in the case is Travis Forbes, a 31-year-old man who faces several charges related to a fire in an apartment that led to a woman from a window of the second storey. Forbes said that he was not involved in the disappearance of Monge.

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