New NATO secretary-general Fogh Rasmussen chairs meeting on Afghanistan

October 7th, 2009 NATO chief: US allies must do more in AfghanistanBRUSSELS — America's allies risk eroding NATO's trans-Altantic defense pact if they do not contribute more to the Afghan mission, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance secretary general, said Wednesday. Fogh Rasmussen said there must be a "fair balance" between what the United States does to stabilize Afghanistan and what its allies do, but that Washington currently sees no such balance.

September 30th, 2009 President to meet NATO secretary generalWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama meets at the White House today with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (AHN'-derz FOHG RAHS'-moo-sihn). The likely topic of discussion: Afghanistan.

September 18th, 2009 BRUSSELS - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Friday called for a new beginning in NATO-Russia relations and conducting a joint review of new security challenges. "A time-out may have been useful to rethink our relationship.

September 18th, 2009 NATO proposes link with Russia's missile defenseBRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has urged the Western alliance and Russia to consider linking their defensive missile systems. He says NATO and Russia have a shared interest in combatting the proliferation of intercontinental ballistic missile technology in other countries.

September 17th, 2009 NATO chief hails missile defense "positive step"BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says a U.S. decision to shelve plans for a missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland "is a positive step." Fogh Rasmussen says he had talks with the U.S.

September 9th, 2009 NATO worried about Afghan war debateBRUSSELS — NATO's top official said Wednesday he was worried about growing public skepticism about the war effort in Afghanistan, and urged the Afghan government to assume greater responsibility for issues ranging from security to good governance. NATO's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed concern "that the public discourse on the effort in Afghanistan has started to go in the wrong direction" in remarks prepared for delivery at a military ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia later in the day.

August 28th, 2009 NATO chief: mission to last 'as long as it takes'ANKARA, Turkey — NATO's mission in Afghanistan will last "as long as it takes" to ensure that the country is secure, the alliance's new leader said Friday during a visit to the Turkish capital. Thanks in part to an increase in the number of troops, the mission is making a difference in the war-ravaged and poverty stricken country, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

August 11th, 2009 NATO chief calls for closer ties with RussiaBRUSSELS — NATO's new Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called Tuesday for a closer strategic partnership with Russia to tackle common security challenges. During a meeting with Russia's envoy to the alliance, Fogh Rasmussen said the NATO-Russia Council — a panel formed in 2004 to improve ties between the Cold War rivals — should become a forum for cooperation on strategic issues, deputy spokeswoman Carmen Romero said.

August 11th, 2009 NATO chief calls for closer ties with RussiaBRUSSELS — NATO's new Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called Tuesday for a closer strategic partnership with Russia to tackle common security challenges. During a meeting with Russia's envoy to the alliance, Fogh Rasmussen said the NATO-Russia Council — a panel formed in 2004 to improve ties between the Cold War rivals — should become a forum for cooperation on strategic issues, deputy spokeswoman Carmen Romero said.

August 4th, 2009 New NATO chief chairs meeting on AfghanistanBRUSSELS — NATO's new civilian and military leaders are briefing members of the alliance's decision-making North Atlantic Council on recent command changes in Afghanistan and other matters affecting the war. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and supreme allied commander U.S.

August 4th, 2009 NATO OKs new operational command for AfghanistanBRUSSELS — NATO's governing body approved a plan on Tuesday to reorganize the alliance's command structure in Afghanistan by setting up a new headquarters to handle the day-to-day running of the war. NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the new Intermediate Joint Headquarters in Kabul will be commanded by U.S.

August 3rd, 2009 NATO's new secretary-general takes up postBRUSSELS — Anders Fogh Rasmussen started work on Monday as NATO's new secretary-general, part of a team assembled by President Barack Obama to lead the war effort in Afghanistan. Fogh Rasmussen, the former Danish prime minister, was greeted by the alliance's top civilian and military leaders as he arrived at NATO headquarters.

August 3rd, 2009 BRUSSELS - NATO welcomed its 12th secretary general Monday as Denmark's former prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived for his first day in the organisation's top job. At a low-key ceremony under the flags of the alliance's 28 members, 56-year-old Rasmussen was welcomed to NATO by his deputy, Claudio Bisogniero, the head of the alliance's military committee, Admiral Giampaolo di Paola, and a handful of alliance staff.

August 1st, 2009 COPENHAGEN - The new head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) spoke out in favour of negotiations with the radical Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan, Danish media reported Saturday. In an interview published in the Danish newspaper Politiken, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that there were groups within the Taliban with whom it was possible to speak and create reconciliation in Afghanistan.

April 4th, 2009 Baden-BADEN - NATO leaders failed to agree on the appointment of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the alliance's next secretary general during dinner talks in the German city of Baden-Baden, officials said Friday. Rasmussen, 56, had been tipped as the frontrunner to replace the current NATO chief, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, when the Dutchman steps down at the end of July.