Scharioth lead off with a list of 10 points concerning everything from Russia to Afghanistan, laying the ground work for questions concerning many vital topics. He spent a significant amount of time discussing the issue of theater missile defense and Russia's growing importance after being out of the NATO limelight for some years.
Vimont had 3 points he wanted to talk about, saying that in France, if you can't say what you want to say in 3 points, there's no point in saying anything at all. He spoke in much the same rhetoric as Scharioth, but kept his points to those that hadn't been mentioned by his German counterpart. Vimont was much more soft-spoken and sometimes I had trouble interpreting his speech, even in the face of his well-spoken English
After both ambassador's finished making their points, Kempe opened the floor for questions from the audience. I perked up as a familiar name, Robert Beecroft, started the discussion. Beecroft, a former ambassador himself, has been to other events I've participated in and always leads off with thoughtful, rather than stabbing questions as was the case with some other participants in the discussion.
The discussion went very well, and Russia dominated the subject matter, and it's no surprise. With their announcement last week of their plans to modernize their aging military, other clashes over the European gas supplies, and the war in Georgia from last year, Russia is quickly reasserting its dominance over the Eastern Bloc. The question of an American missile defense shield based in Poland and the Czech Republic has long raised the hackles of many in the Kremlin, but maybe with Obama's purported deal, they could solve the problem without raising a finger.
Russia has long objected to the proposed missile system, placing missile interceptors in Poland, and a Radar system in the Czech Republic. They claim it infringes upon their own defense systems, and would allow the US to spy on Russian activities. The US claims the system is merely a safeguard against rogue states like Iran and N. Korea, who could launch missiles against allies in Europe and the Middle East. Obama's letter to Russian president Medvedev, released in early March, inferred that Russian cooperation over Iran might loosen the locks on the proposed system.
While Russia has recently been acting in a very aggressive way, they haven't received a lot of criticism from the international community. The hope is that NATO along with the EU can help bring Russia back to the forefront in a constructive way that allows all parties to benefit. This is especially important after the gas crisis in January, when Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, which is responsible for gas distribution to Western Europe.
Afghanistan also came up frequently, and the main concern was European commitment to the mission there. A particularly scathing question came from the representative from the German Marshall Fund of the US, who asked whether or not Afghanistan was basically a US mission and the dedication of Germany and France to the mission itself. Both ambassadors responded well, Germany reaffirming its extra commitment of troops for the upcoming elections, and France keeping its commitments as long as they were necessary.
Overall, the discussion went extremely well and everyone left with a greater sense of European feelings on the Russia issue and hope for Afghanistan's future.
I was particularly happy to have talked to a representative of the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, even if the conversation was merely about my camera and lens combinations. The one thing I really noticed was the recording device he brought with him. Much beefier than my simple tape recorder, he tapped directly into the microphone system, allowing for clear recording of the speakers. Not only was my system less advanced, the batteries died mid-speech and I probably lost half of Vimont's comments. No good.
Once again, many of the people attending the event knew each other and conversed afterwards. I wish I could have joined in with the talks, but elected to make my way home, to relax and upload the photos I had taken at the event on my computer. Overall, being in the same room with two such important ambassadors, and hearing discussion about the future of the 20th Century's most important military alliance was a treat. I won't be attending any events next week, since my supervisor is on vacation, but I hope April will have many more events for me to attend and write about, until then....
Patrick, out.
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