On March 19, 2002, General
Joseph W. Ralston, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR),
visited the Center for the Study of
Democracy (CSD). General Ralston became the Commander-in-Chief,
United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe
in May 2000. General Ralston commands one of the nine Unified
combatant commands in the Department of Defense. The United States
European command is responsible for the activities of all U.S.
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps forces operating within its
area of responsibility in Europe, Africa and the Middle
East.
Accompanied by Mr. Michael Durkee, International
Affairs Advisor to SACEUR, General Ralston met with Dr. Ognian
Shentov, CSD President, Ambassador Boyko Noev, Director of CSD's
European Program and former Bulgarian Minister of Defense, and Mr.
Boyko Todorov, CSD Program Director.
The main topic of discussion was the potential for
cooperation with non-governmental organizations and think tanks in
the global war against terrorism. This is particularly relevant in
Southeast Europe where the new security risks are linked to the
stability of government institutions and the capacity of law
enforcement. At the same time, SELDI and its network of think tanks
in the region have developed a considerable analytical potential in
linking the new security challenges with the work in good
governance in general, and anti-corruption in particular (CSD
serves both as a Secretariat to the national anti-corruption
initiative Coalition 2000 and
an Executive Secretariat to the Southeast European Legal Development
Initiative (SELDI). A cooperation has already been developed in
this area between CSD and the George C. Marshall European Center
for Security Studies at Garmisch, Germany. SACEUR encouraged
this cooperation and underlined the contribution which efforts in
the field of the rule of law can make to the security objectives
pursued by the US government and its allies in the
region.
|