Peter MacKay a l'OTAN?

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Economist magazine touts Peter MacKay as possible NATO chief

By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Sat. Jan 24 - 6:42 AM

Britain's Economist magazine is touting Defence Minister Peter MacKay as a possible candidate for the chief of NATO.

The alliance is looking for a replacement for Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

The Economist also mentions former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley as a possible prospect.

Manley lost out to the current secretary general in 2004.

The Globe and Mail quotes experts as saying it's unlikely the job will go to a Canadian. Traditionally, the position goes to a European.

The Globe quotes a Conservative close to MacKay saying: ``It's quite a compliment, but you know, he has a job as Minister of Defence.''

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9010444.html

L'article en question de The Economist:

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NATO
Who can unite the allies?

Jan 22nd 2009
From The Economist print edition
Contenders are lining up for the race to be NATO’s new secretary-general

THE world’s most successful military alliance is looking for a new boss. On January 26th, NATO ambassadors will start talking about who should replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as secretary-general when he steps down this summer. The decision could be made at the 60th-anniversary summit in April, though that may be too soon for America’s new administration.

NATO congratulates itself on winning the cold war without firing a shot, and then reuniting Europe with its eastward expansion. Yet the mood is of trouble and uncertainty. NATO’s hot war, in Afghanistan, is going badly and the alliance is at odds over further expansion. Relations with its neighbour in Brussels, the European Union, are paralysed even though many countries are members of both. Other issues on the new secretary-general’s desk will be Europe’s feeble spending on defence and the question of how much military planning is needed to cope with Russia’s sabre-rattling.
(...)
Two Canadian possibilities are Peter MacKay and John Manley, defence and former foreign ministers respectively. Canada has transformed its armed forces and fought hard in Afghanistan. But NATO may prefer somebody from an EU country to help overcome the friction between the two bodies. If so, that would rule out another possible European, Norway’s foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Store.

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12972589&source=hptextfeature

Et du Globe and Mail

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Economist magazine pegs MacKay for role as NATO chief
CAMPBELL CLARK
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
January 24, 2009 at 2:01 AM EST

OTTAWA — Would Defence Minister Peter MacKay drop his political career in Canada for the perks of a top diplomatic post with NATO in Brussels?

Mr. MacKay is being floated as a potential candidate for secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, a high-profile international role, although experts say it's probably a long shot.

The somewhat strained alliance is looking for a new secretary-general to replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the former Dutch foreign minister who has held the post since 2004.

Tensions have developed in the alliance over such issues as combat commitments in Afghanistan and eastward expansion of the alliance, and many believe a unifying figure is needed.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay at a press conference earlier this year

Those who have supported larger combat roles in Afghanistan, such as the United States, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and some Eastern European nations, have pushed the other Europeans for more “burden sharing.”

The British magazine The Economist cited Mr. MacKay as a potential candidate, although it's far from clear whether Canada's Defence Minister and former foreign minister would be willing to cash in his political career for a job that is usually a postpolitics career capper.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090124.wnato24/BNStory/politics/home

Ben coudonc ca continue cette histoire la...

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U.S. pushing MacKay for NATO chief
Mike Blanchfield, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, March 09, 2009

The next secretary general of NATO does not have to come from Europe, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Monday.

Mr. MacKay is rumoured to be in the running for the top job at NATO, which will be formally filled at the alliance's summit next month.

NATO insiders in Brussels have told Canwest News Service that Mr. MacKay is a long shot because a European is favoured to be the political boss of the 26-country alliance to balance the fact that NATO's military commander currently comes from the United States.

However, a report in Monday's Washington Post suggested that U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden would be pushing for Mr. MacKay to get the job.

Mr .MacKay, who visited Washington last week for talks with his U.S. counterpart, Robert Gates, said Monday he has not talked to Biden about the job.

Mr .MacKay has been coy about whether he wants the job, telling a news conference in Ottawa again on Monday that, "I have a lot on my plate right here in Canada."

But the minister also talked about how Canada's 60 years as a member in NATO, as well as the current contributions of Canadian soldiers in Kandahar, had raised the country's profile internationally. He said "a person's nationality" should not be held against them when seeking top posts at NATO.

Mr. MacKay's competition for the job comes from top politicians from Norway, Denmark and Poland.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1370189

Citation :

Publié le 09 mars 2009 à 14h08 | Mis à jour à 14h13
OTAN: Washington veut MacKay comme secrétaire général

Joël-Denis Bellavance
La Presse

(Ottawa) L'administration de Barack Obama favorise la candidature du ministre de la Défense Peter MacKay comme prochain secrétaire général de l'OTAN.

Le vice-président américain Joe Biden compte profiter d'un voyage à Bruxelles cette semaine pour faire la promotion de la candidature du ministre MacKay auprès des pays alliés européens, a rapporté en fin de semaine le Washington Post.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/200903/09/01-834720-otan-washington-veut-mackay-comme-secretaire-general.php

Ca sera pas lui c'est presque sur...

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U.S. backs Dane as next NATO chief
Reuters
Published: March 21, 2009
BRUSSELS: The United States has told NATO allies it will back Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the next head of the alliance, NATO diplomats and a U.S. source said Saturday.

Rasmussen already has the backing of European NATO heavyweights Germany, Britain and France for the post of alliance secretary general, but Washington had been considering backing Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

A U.S. source close to the administration of President Barack Obama said Washington had indicted its acceptance of Rasmussen after U.S. National Security Adviser General James Jones made an unannounced weekend trip this month to Denmark to visit the prime minister.

Two senior NATO diplomats also said Washington had signalled its acceptance of Rasmussen.

"There seems to be a general coalescence around Rasmussen," said one of them, added that a formal announcement was expected by the time of the April 3-4 NATO summit.
(reporting by David Brunnstrom and Paul Taylor; editing by Mark John)

http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2009/03/21/europe/OUKWD-UK-NATO-CHIEF-RASMUSSEN.php

Ben coudonc, encore une fois ça sera un Européen

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Danish PM named new NATO boss
Peter O’Neil, Canwest News Europe Correspondent Published: Saturday, April 04, 2009

STRASBOURG, France -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper dramatically raised the stakes Saturday in the battle over women's rights in Afghanistan, warning President Hamid Karzai that allied support for the mission will shrink if he doesn't change a law that discriminates against women.

President Barack Obama also stepped up the pressure, calling Kabul's measure to restrict women's rights as "abhorrent."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, meanwhile, said he demanded from Karzai assurance that the law won't roll back women's rights.

"He (Karzai) has promised there will be a statement made by his Justice Department tomorrow and he has promised that, if necessary, this will return to the Afghan parliament rather than being enacted in practice," Brown told reporters.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1461468

Pis de toute façon si Super Barack l'aime pas il le fera démissionné de force ou de gré...il a de l'expérience la dedans notre ami Obama. Finalement ça devait être comme ça quand il travaillait pour les OSBL, I run de show or you get out!