NATO boss on whirlwind visit

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and members of the North Atlantic Council were making the rounds of Norwegian military installations, Arctic research centers, government ministers’ offices and the Royal Palace this week, on an official visit that included Liberation- and Veterans’ Day ceremonies on Wednesday. Climate change and military preparedness were on the agenda. [...]

Stoltenberg wants to beef up NATO

As Europe struggles through its worst economic crisis in decades, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg wants to strengthen NATO. He led Norway’s delegation to the NATO summit in Chicago, and said he wants to boost Norway’s support to the alliance, both financially and otherwise. “It’s unsettling to hear about the big cuts in European defense [...]

Norway may compensate civilian casualties in Libya

Norwegian fighter jets were among the most active during last year’s NATO strike on Libya, and NATO is under rising pressure to recognize and offer compensation for civilian casualties. Norway may go along with any demands posed by Libyan authorities. “There’s no obligation to pay compensation and there are good reasons for that,” Defense Minister [...]

Russia: US will send ships to Norway

A Russian diplomat has claimed that American authorities are hoping to place warships in Norwegian waters as part of the planned NATO missile defense system. The Russian ambassador to NATO, Dmitrij Rogozin, told news agency NTB that “when I talked with my American colleagues, they did not rule out the possibility of placing missile defense [...]

Soldiers come home from Libya

Norwegian soldiers who have returned from the NATO operations in Libya this week have described their experience in the military conflict, while domestic criticism continued. Norway had contributed to the NATO operations in Libya with six F-16 fighter jets, reduced to four in June, which returned on August 1. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that Norwegian [...]

Norwegian jets return from Libya

Norwegian F-16 fighter jets that have been assigned to the NATO operations in Libya returned home on Monday, as Norway’s direct involvement in the mission effectively comes to an end. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that Norwegian fighters flew 596 of the 6,125 missions by NATO in total so far, dropping 542 bombs and clocking up [...]

‘Norway bombing the most’

Norwegian fighter jets reportedly have bombed at least 130 targets in Libya since the UN-backed military intervention began last month, meaning that Norwegian pilots are among those carrying out the most bombing raids over Libya. Norwegian officials, meanwhile, have held talks with representatives of the Libyan opposition fighting the country’s longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. Newspaper [...]

Gasoline prices hit new all-time high

Even though Norway is an oil-producing nation, it’s always had high prices for gasoline (petrol) because of heavy taxes to discourage use of private cars. Now the prices are higher than ever before, because of rising oil prices and the strong Norwegian currency. The violence in Libya, meanwhile, is fueling the high oil prices and [...]

Norway joined NATO in suppressing reports of civilian Afghan deaths

New WikiLeaks releases, accessed by Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, continue to embarrass the Norwegian government as well as the US’, with latest revelations suggesting that Norway’s ambassadors joined their US-led NATO allies in attempts to avoid a messy debate on civilian casualties in Afghanistan. Leaked cables from the American delegation to NATO, written in September 2008, [...]

Norway among those splitting NATO

New WikiLeaks releases have revealed the depth of divisions in NATO over key questions of European security – with the Norwegian government accused of being part of an allegedly pro-Russian “gang of five” with France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. American diplomatic cables between 2006 and 2010, handed over to WikiLeaks and which Norwegian newspapers [...]

Norway plots Afghan withdrawal

UPDATED: Three of Norway’s top government ministers traveled to the NATO summit in Lisbon on Friday, where the war in Afghanistan was high on the agenda. The Norwegian ministers want to withdraw their troops by the end of 2014, but shied away from any exact deadline. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre [...]

Ex-UN envoy stirs Afghan debate

UPDATED: Kai Eide, the Norwegian diplomat who until recently served as the United Nations’ top envoy in Kabul, has revealed a new bitterness over how Afghanistan and its war against the Taliban is being run. He wants to stir debate on Afghanistan, and has unleashed harsh criticism of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, American officials playing [...]

Defense Minister: 'Bring NATO home'

New Norwegian Defense Minister Grete Faremo gave her first speech to a major military organization in Oslo Monday evening and her message was clear: NATO needs to return to its “core values” of protecting its members on home turf. She said Norway is stressing this as NATO itself revises its strategic concept. With King Harald [...]

Norway to NATO: 'No more troops'

Norway’s new Defense Minister, just two days into her job, traveled to Slovakia for a NATO meeting where Norway and other countries were being urged to send more troops to Afghanistan. Grete Faremo says NATO needs to be content with the contribution Norway is making already. “I think the secretary general (former Danish Prime Minister [...]

Norway hails Obama's decision to drop US' rocket shield plan

Norway never liked the US’ plans to set up rocket shield bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. Norwegian officials thus welcomed news that the Obama Administration in Washington is now opting for a more flexible rocket defense system. “It’s a wise decision,” Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told newspaper Dagsavisen on Friday. “This shows [...]