At the invitation of Michael Turner, President of
the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, a delegation from the Defence and Security
Committee (DSC) travelled to Washington, D.C., and Miami, Florida, from
January 26 to 29, 2016. The delegation included
40 parliamentarians from 19 NATO countries. The Canadian delegation
was led by Mrs. Cheryl Gallant, M.P.; also participating were the Honourable
Joseph A. Day, Senator, the Honourable Colin Kenny, Senator, the Honourable
Michel Rivard, Senator, the Honourable David M. Wells, Senator, the Honourable
John McKay, M.P., and Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus, M.P. The parliamentarians were
assisted by Mr. Jean-François Pagé, Association Secretary to the Canadian NATO
PA Parliamentary Association.
The delegation met with senior officials of the
U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of State and with Brookings
Institution researchers. The presentations and discussions focused on
transatlantic relations and the expectations for the Warsaw Summit, U.S.
priorities and policies with regard to NATO and Russia, and U.S. policy in the
Middle East, especially the campaign against Daesh.
The delegation’s mission to the United States
ended with visits to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Air Base and the Homestead Air
Reserve Base, as well as a briefing session with the U.S. Southern Command
(SOUTHCOM).
Lawrence Silverman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State for Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State, stressed the
strategic importance of the Alliance and stated that the fight against Daesh
had to be multi‑pronged (military, counter propaganda, economic). He also
mentioned that the strikes carried out by the U.S.‑led coalition had
significantly slowed the progression of Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
Mr. Silverman suggested that, in addition to
military efforts, we must, to the extent possible, support and help the
different political actors in Syria in order to ensure a peaceful transition
and to strengthen the border. This can only be achieved with the removal of
Bashaar Al‑Assad. Mr. Silverman also noted that it is difficult to
properly identify the positive forces opposing the terrorist groups.
Mr. Silverman mentioned the importance of the
refugee issue and the direct link between the situation in Syria and the
difficulties encountered by the European Union in this regard.
Joseph Pennington, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Iraq, U.S. Department of State, then addressed the delegation with a
briefing on the situation on the other side of the Euphrates, in Iraq. Mr.
Pennington noted that the military angle was the only way forward in Iraq at
this time. He added that a full 40% of Iraqi sovereign territory that was held
by Daesh after Sept 2014 is now back in the hands of the Iraqi government. This
is a very positive sign, he stated, as the group’s ability to launch offensives
was clearly diminishing, putting them principally on a defensive footing in
Iraq.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State John
A. Heffern met with the delegation to discuss expectations in the run-up to the
Warsaw Summit in July 2016.
He believes it is necessary to go back to the
essence of what led to the creation of the organization in 1949, namely the
collective security of Europe in the face of Russian threats, and add to it the
management of recurring crises such as migration and terrorism.
Mr. Heffern also mentioned the importance of NATO
solidarity (in dealing with the Russian threat and terrorism). In this regard,
he stressed the importance of meetings such as those organized by the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly and noted the essential role played by legislators.
Their contribution confers democratic legitimacy to decisions that would
otherwise be made only at the interministerial level.
With regard to the Warsaw Summit, which will be
taking place in July 2016 and follows the 2014 Summit in Wales, the Allies
currently have seven main goals:
1)Bolster collective defence (improve readiness
and resilience – each country and as an Alliance – hybrid threats, etc.);
2)Ensure NATO unity on Russia Policy;
3)Renew focus on partnerships, Gulf Cooperation
Council cooperation, and capacity building in places like Libya;
4)Enhance allied defence spending – which remains
the key to readiness and deterrence;
5)Reaffirm NATO’s “open door” policy. Maintaining
this policy is important as it shows the credibility and endurance of the core
ideals of the Alliance;
6)Deliver on Wales Summit promises for
partnerships – especially enhanced partnerships in places like Georgia and
Ukraine; and
7)Operations – It is important to begin the transition phase for some,
and even maintain those as needed, but schedule those due for closure, such as
Kosovo and the maritime operation in the Mediterranean.
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
Relations with Russia were the focus of
discussions at the Brookings Institution meetings, with a briefing on
Russia-NATO relations in the wake of the Cold War and the efforts made to
foster a partnership between Russia and the Euro-Atlantic community.
Despite these efforts, Russia does not feel it is
part of the Atlantic community. In this regard, the invasion and annexation of
Crimea are good examples.
The participants expressed their concerns about
the lack of unity among the allied countries in Europe in dealing with Russian
aggression.
Steven Pifer, Director, Arms
Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative and Senior Fellow, began the
roundtable discussion with a briefing on Russia-NATO relations in the wake of
the Cold War and the efforts made by the transatlantic community to foster a
cooperative partnership with Moscow. Today, he noted, the Euro-Atlantic
community finds itself in clear competition with Russia and this is having an
impact on the world and European affairs.
Constanze Stelzenmueller, the
Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at the Center on United States and Europe, at
Brookings, noted that the U.S. still sends a mixed message about its presence
in Europe. This is destabilizing the Alliance. She cited the example of
Germany, which after WWII and over the Cold War, unlearned deterrence and
territorial defence.
The lack of German readiness
is evident in the hollowing out of German forces and its inability to handle
the challenges of hybrid warfare.
The delegation then heard from
Clifford Gaddy, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and
Europe, at Brookings. In his opinion, the biggest difference between the Cold
War era and today is that the Soviet Union did not want to be in our world
order, while Russia is actually seeking to be a bigger player in it.
Consequently, the United
States and its NATO Allies have significant leverage over Russia today, as it
could never survive as an autarchy, contrary to the pretentions of the Soviet
Union in its day.
Mr. Gaddy also noted that
Russia was trying to strengthen its presence in the Arctic to compensate for
its economic weaknesses and to demonstrate that it is a leading power on the
world stage. He urged NATO to be mindful of Russia’s ambitions in the Far
North, and to be very cautious.
U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND (SOUTHCOM), U.S. COAST GUARD
STATION, HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE - MIAMI, FLORIDA
The delegation had the privilege of visiting the
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), the U.S. Coast Guard Station and
Homestead Air Reserve Base.
The purpose of these visits was to show the
parallels between the United States experience in the Caribbean and various
forms of trafficking and migration and the problem Europeans are having today
in the Mediterranean.
TOUR OF SOUTHCOM
The visit focussed on:
·Briefing on SOUTHCOM
·Discussion on the SOUTHCOM migrant
interception mission
·Discussion on the role of Europe in the mission
to combat drug trafficking
COAST GUARD AIR STATION
The visit focussed on:
·Briefing on the Command
·Tour of the Miami Air Base - CAPT Fedor, D7
Response / CAPT Lutes, Commanding Officer
·Briefing on District 7
·Briefing on the missions of the Air Base
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE
The visit focussed on:
·Display of planes on the ground:
·MH-65D
·HC-144A
·Unit visit – Tactical Law Enforcement Team
(TACLET) South
·CDR Fredie, Commanding Officer
·Briefing on the mission
·Tactical demonstration
·Briefing on the teams
U.S. COAST GUARD AIR BASE
The visit focussed on:
·Presentation by the 125th Fighter
Wing
·Air Defence Mission
·Presentation and simulation of an alert
·Presentation on the F-15C
·Presentation by the 484th
Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
·Overview of the Command
·Presentation on the F-16C
·Embark on a USCG Fast Response Cutter(FRC)
in Miami Bay
·Discussion on SUF
·Demonstration of NCV-UOF (use of force tactics
against non-compliant vessels)
·Lessons learned from CD/AMIO missions
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Gallant, M.P.
Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association (NATO PA)