“NATO” on The Daily Caller

Chicago 2012 is the largest-ever NATO summit, with representatives from over 60 countries attending. It’s the first such gathering in the U.S. since 1999, and the only one to ever be held beyond the Beltway. It’s a set piece of the world’s diplomatic calendar. The only problem is that you wouldn’t actually know it by being here. Despite all the press coverage and pre-conference buildup, President Obama’s NATO summit is a pretty low-key affair. (more)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will hold meetings in Chicago next week, but the role of the Cold War-era organization has been called into question, particularly with regards to Afghanistan and missile defense. (more)

Later this week, NATO allies will gather in Chicago. While President Barack Obama and our European partners will discuss Afghanistan, smart defense, and the alliance’s ability to confront 21st-century security challenges, the summit agenda is marred by a glaring omission: consideration of the Republic of Macedonia’s overdue membership invitation. (more)

John McCain said that he suspects Syria will “not be on the agenda” at the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 2012 Chicago Summit. McCain’s remarks came at an event held by the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended the U.S. mission in Afghanistan as a week of deadly anti-American protests and the killing of two U.S. service members pushed Democrats to challenge President Barack Obama’s policy. (more)

Turkey will never allow any third country, particularly Israel, to use intelligence obtained by a NATO radar system, its foreign minister said on Friday. (more)

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO has decided to extend an operation to protect the airspace of Baltic members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with fighter jets, officials said Wednesday. (more)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban dismissed reports they are preparing to talk peace with the Afghan government, and a NATO report leaked Wednesday shows captured insurgents full of confidence they will seize power after international troops leave. (more)

Afghan troops who came under fire while operating near the Pakistan border called in the NATO airstrikes that allegedly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at two posts along the frontier, Afghan officials said Sunday. (more)

Update: Fox News reports that a U.S. Department of Defense official has confirmed that an armed U.S. Predator drone, along with a French fighter plane, fired on Gadhafi’s convoy.
 (more)

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi’s wife and three of his children fled Libya to neighboring Algeria on Monday, firm evidence that the longtime leader has lost his grip on the country. (more)

Nato will continue to deploy strike aircraft, spy planes and unmanned drones over Libya but will not put any troops on the ground to help the transitional council maintain law and order, alliance officials made clear on Wednesday. (more)

Now that Muammar Gaddafi’s regime is on the brink of collapse, perhaps NATO can focus on another leader who has “lost the consent of his people”: Barack Obama. (more)

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Libya’s rebels said Friday they have reports that Moammar Gadhafi’s youngest son, who commands one of the regime’s strongest military brigades, was killed in a NATO airstrike in the western town of Zlitan. (more)

Five months after NATO forces began what was supposed to be a lightning-quick operation to remove Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi from power, the conflict is moving into a muddled endgame. (more)

It’s tempting to immediately cut off funds for President Obama’s ill-conceived Libya offensive. But it’s not the right course. For the sake of our allies, Congress needs to be patient in using the power of the purse to correct Obama’s misadventure. (more)

In one of his final speeches as secretary of Defense, Robert Gates took NATO allies to the woodshed. Addressing the leaders of the alliance at a meeting in Brussels late last week, Gates criticized European spending priorities, which have led to penny-pinching on military spending as governments shift financial resources to domestic programs. If that did not change, he warned, NATO’s future was “dim, if not dismal.” (more)

BRUSSELS — America’s military alliance with Europe — the cornerstone of U.S. security policy for six decades — faces a “dim, if not dismal” future, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday in a blunt valedictory address. (more)

TRIPOLI, Libya — NATO rained scores of bombs on the Libyan capital in a rare daytime assault throughout Wednesday, but Moammar Gaddafi responded swiftly with a vow that his people would never surrender. (more)

Armed western men have been filmed on the ground with rebels in central Libya in the first apparent confirmation that Nato has sent military advisers to train anti-government forces. (more)