One option being discussed is an over-the-horizon British rapid reaction force based at sea.
European leaders are set to take a vital step towards the creation of a Rapid Reaction Force of up to 60, 000 personnel.
But Mr Hague claimed that Mr Blair had been rocked by the strength of opposition to plans for a European rapid reaction force.
In 1991, NATO defense ministers approved a radical shakeup of its forces in post-cold war Europe, including creation of a Rapid Reaction Force.
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- NATO foreign ministers are meeting to discuss for the first time the implications of the European Union's planned Rapid Reaction Force.
The RFTG was created under the 2010 defence review and is a rapid reaction force which deals with unexpected world events that require military intervention.
The European Rapid Reaction force will have to become a powerful reality - not because of misplaced continental ambitions, or somehow to spite Nato, but to fill a dangerous void.
In 1995, defense ministers from NATO and European Union countries agreed to set up a "rapid reaction force" to protect embattled U.N. peacekeeping troops from Bosnian Serb aggression.
Led by French chauvinists and Brussels bureaucrats, they now espouse a military alliance without the United States, called the European Rapid Reaction Force ERRF, barkingly pronounced erf!
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Safire makes the case for a missile defense for allies and US
The 2, 600 troops, part of the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Force (AARC) headquartered in Rheindahlen, Germany, could be ready to take up position as early as Sunday.
Many EU leaders object to America's planned National Missile Defence project and the U.S. has made clear its worries that the EU's new rapid reaction force could undermine NATO.
The Bush Administration faces a critical, delicatechallenge in Europe, particularly regarding France: the European Union's move to create a European rapid reaction force, a military entity made up of troops and equipment from various European nations.
After his meeting with Jospin, Schroeder was expected to chair a meeting of the Franco-German defence and security council, charged with laying the groundwork for a European rapid reaction force of 60, 000 troops, envisioned by 2003.
He has used his calm skills to tread a careful line on such controversial issues as the EU Rapid Reaction Force and British participation in National Missile Defence, as well as overseeing British forces in military action in Afghanistan.
The problems are compounded by Turkey, which, fearing it will be shut out of decision-making by the EU, is blocking a framework statement on NATO's readiness to permit the future European Rapid Reaction Force to use alliance resources for crisis-management when NATO is not involved.
Alongside this rapid reaction force, said a UN official, a broad political plan to bring stability to the region is set to be signed on the side-lines of the AU summit in Addis Ababa by the leaders of the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Angola, the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Tanzania and South Africa.
The new force will probably comprise 17, 600 troops, including a rapid-reaction force, plus a further 3, 000 police.
Visit the crisis, he says, brandishing his little rapid-reaction force, before the crisis visits you.
Mr Powell has also supported the European Union's plans to set up a European rapid-reaction force.
They should be withdrawn, said Mr Murtha, leaving a rapid-reaction force in the region.
To this end Mr Robertson promises to replace the present elderly aircraft carriers with two bigger ones, plus a rapid-reaction force able to handle two Bosnia-size crises at a time.
Uzbekistan doesn't mind contributing military units to the rapid-reaction force "but does not consider it necessary for the moment" to attach emergency responders, drug-control forces and other special services, organization spokesman Vitaly Strugovets told Interfax.
France, sensing an opportunity to push on with its aim of creating an EU standing army, wants to deploy a rapid-reaction force of some 1, 500 European troops but is so far being blocked by Germany.
In theory, such flare-ups should offer the European Union a chance to show some military mettle for all its talk of having a rapid-reaction force of its own, but in practice the Macedonian crisis comes when Europeans are still wholly unready for reaction.
The Contingency Force was a rapid reaction capability maintained to deal with lesser contingencies.
The strategic rationale for swift-moving expeditionary forces, be they Army or Marines, airborne infantry or special operations, is self-evident given the likelihood of counterterrorism, rapid reaction, disaster response, or stability or security force assistance missions.
That puts an onus on training, military exercises, and making sure the NATO Response Force, which is meant to provide rapid-reaction forces for deployment at short notice, is up to the job.
WSJ: For Europe's Defense Establishment, a Moment of Truth on Defense
应用推荐