Washington Times January 18, 2008 Support for Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ criticism of other NATO members’ performance in Afghanistan appeared from an unexpected source yesterday — a European defense specialist who is closely linked to senior NATO officials. more
Financial Times January 18, 2008 Sweden’s government has warned of a “significant downgrade” to its economic growth forecasts due to the turmoil in the US and affirmed it is ready to boost public spending in response. more
Financial Times January 18, 2008 Robert Gates, US defence secretary, on Thursday said the recent decision to send an additional 3,200 marines to Afghanistan did not reflect dissatisfaction about the military performance of US allies in the country. more
The New York Times January 18, 2008 Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that NATO countries were playing a “significant and powerful role in Afghanistan,” after some of Washington’s closest European allies assailed him for comments cited in a news report about their counterinsurgency operations in the volatile south. more
International Herald Tribune January 18, 2008 While there is increasing evidence that the euro-area economy is slowing, most of the factors that are contributing to the bleak outlook in the United States are not present on the Continent, according to the governor of the Bank of France, Christian Noyer. more