don’t drone me, bro

On the NATO website itself it expressly forbids the use of any material, print or image if in any way it mocks or ridicules NATO. So, now it is apparently a crime (copyright laws would be used) but in essence, this is political censorship, if anyone used material garnered or gleaned from the NATO site in a way that NATO didn’t approve. Keeping in mind that NATO is a consortium of western military powers that is funded through those governments, of the respective member states of the country, the US overwhelmingly, and that as a citizen of one of those countries, you do not have the right to use information on those sites even though your tax monies are being used to support it, if NATO determines that you are in some manner not treating them with proper respect. (Rick Rozoff)

Yuppies Bring Fresh, New Perspectives to NATO at YuP Day
NATO Allied Command Transformation, Mar 27 2013

Kolinda

There are not many organisations that will dedicate an entire day to young leaders of tomorrow and ask them to help find solutions to challenges that could profoundly impact the lives of millions, but not every organisation advocates for continuous improvement in an Alliance of 28 different nations like ACT. ACT, along with the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University, CSIS and the Atlantic Council, hosted its annual YuP Day 2013 at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University in Washington on Mar 26, to bring a diverse group of university students and yuppies together to provide new perspectives on issues that drive NATO’s future Transformation. During the day-long event, yuppies analysed challenges and opportunities inherent in four potential future scenarios for the Alliance. They were then assembled in four working groups, guided by mentors from ACT and other organisations, to formulate their own ideas for taking on these challenges. Ultimately, the discussion generated by these young people will help shape the future of the Alliance and ensure that NATO remains a capable and adaptable military force. Among NATO leaders in attendance were Asst Sec Gen for Public Diplomacy Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and ACT Deputy Chief of Staff Strategic Plans and Policy US Army Maj-Gen Peter Bayer, who gave opening and introductory remarks. SAC Transformation, French Air Force Gen Jean-Paul Paloméros delivered the keynote address to more than one hundred attendees. Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović told the yuppies:

You are not only the leaders of tomorrow, you are the leaders of today!

Gen Paloméros discussed NATO’s current and ever-changing security environment, making clear to the yuppies their agenda for the day. He told them:

This gathering of promising, talented yuppies is all the more meaningful to me (than what? – RB). Where talent, motivation and youth meet, the sky’s the limit. Today you have not embarked on a leisure cruise. Today you are active crew members to ACT’s transformation. Within our ambitious strategic concept, we still need to solve our security equation. This is what you have been asked to do. You, we in ACT, the Alliance, need to find the best way to match the security requirement. The ultimate goal of this work will be identifying security implications to support future operations and translating them smartly into real, relevant and credible capabilities.

The future security requirement depends on continuous strategic dialogue and a shared perspective of challenges the Alliance will face in the long term. That realisation wasn’t lost among the yuppies. Jean Heilbronn, one of the yuppies, said:

The need for prioritising the threats and risks the Alliance might have to face in the future and determining what could be NATO’s role in addressing these challenges appeared to me as a crucial issue. It is not enough to simply present what the future may hold. We also have to take the risk of assessing and giving estimates of probable evolutions in order to foster proactive change and transformation.

After lengthy discussions examining relevant drivers and developing trends that will shape the future security and operating environment for NATO in 2030 and beyond, the working groups reassembled to provide their solutions to each other, their mentors, and ACT strategic analysts including Maj-Gen Bayer, who was impressed with the outcome. He said:

Anyway you look at the future, it is dangerous, complex and fast. What I saw here today makes me optimistic about the future. I saw energy and commitment and I thank you for that.