Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal (wsj.com)
February 19, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The defense ministers of Croatia, Macedonia and Albania asked help from the United States Tuesday on joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Branko Vukelic of Croatia, Lazar Elenovski of Macedonia and Fatmir Mediu of Albania described their countries' efforts to meet requirements for change ahead of a NATO summit in April in Bucharest. That is where NATO members will consider the three bids.
The United States has been supportive of membership for the three countries, but has been encouraging them to step up changes in their practices. It is unknown whether all three countries have the necessary unanimous support of the alliance's 26 members.
The ministers' meetings with officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, come at a time of increased misgivings about stability in the Balkans after Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia Sunday.
Tuesday, in a joint event at the Atlantic Council, a Washington group that promotes close U.S.-European ties, the three ministers argued that membership for all three would promote stability by anchoring the three Balkan countries in an important Western institution. They also said that the necessary changes have been made.
"I believe that our time has come," Mediu said.
February 19, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The defense ministers of Croatia, Macedonia and Albania asked help from the United States Tuesday on joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Branko Vukelic of Croatia, Lazar Elenovski of Macedonia and Fatmir Mediu of Albania described their countries' efforts to meet requirements for change ahead of a NATO summit in April in Bucharest. That is where NATO members will consider the three bids.
The United States has been supportive of membership for the three countries, but has been encouraging them to step up changes in their practices. It is unknown whether all three countries have the necessary unanimous support of the alliance's 26 members.
The ministers' meetings with officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, come at a time of increased misgivings about stability in the Balkans after Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia Sunday.
Tuesday, in a joint event at the Atlantic Council, a Washington group that promotes close U.S.-European ties, the three ministers argued that membership for all three would promote stability by anchoring the three Balkan countries in an important Western institution. They also said that the necessary changes have been made.
"I believe that our time has come," Mediu said.