EQUIPO NIZKOR |
|
26Apr11
NATO’s Secretary General to Visit Atlanta May 9
The World Affairs Council of Atlanta is hosting a luncheon presentation by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the 12th secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, at the Commerce Club on Monday, May 9.
Mr. Rasmussen, who assumed his current position on Aug. 1, 2009, is to give a major policy address concerning NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan and Libya.
He specifically asked to stop in Atlanta, one of only three cities he will be visiting outside of Washington on this tour, because of the large presence of Georgia National Guard troops in both war zones.
When NATO started taking command of the mission against the Gaddafi regime in Libya in April, Mr. Rasmussen ruled out arming the rebels.
“We are not in Libya to arm people,” he was reported to have said by ABC News. “We are in Libya to protect civilians against attacks.”
He also has rejected claims by Mr Gaddafi and his regime that NATO is on the rebels' side, saying the alliance is an impartial participant in the conflict.
More recently NATO has intensified its air strikes and bombed Mr. Gaddafi’s residence in Tripoli, the capital.
The current war in Afghanistan is now in its 10th year.
A Dane, Mr. Rasmussen has held many government posts in Denmark including prime minister from 2001-09.
During the Danish presidency of the European Union in 2002, he played a key role in the accession of 10 candidates for EU membership.
As Denmark’s minister for economic affairs from 1990-92, he was the Danish signatory to the Masstricht Treaty, which eventually led to the introduction of the single currency, the euro. Denmark, however, decided to opt out of the euro-zone and uses its national currency, the krone.
[Source: By Phil Bolton, Global Atlanta, 26Apr11]
 | This document has been published on 04May11 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. |