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08 November 2011 Obama, NATO Chief Discuss Libya, Afghanistan  President Obama and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen met to discuss NATO’s just-ended mission to support Libya and to discuss goals for the 2012 Chicago summit, which will feature discussions on Afghanistan.  A significant part of their meeting in the Oval Office was focused on NATO’s defense capabilities to meet future security threats, which is expected to be a dominant theme at the next summit. Obama is hosting the 25th NATO summit May 20–21 in Chicago.

07 October 2011 Panetta Cites Progress, Gaps in NATO Defense  Countries of the NATO alliance must work together to defend common security interests now and in the future, said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. At his final press conference of the NATO defense ministerial, Panetta summarized key issues, praised the alliance and its success in Afghanistan and Libya, and detailed work that is needed to fill gaps in the alliance’s military capabilities. 

06 October 2011 Panetta Details Guidelines for Ending Libya Mission  Consensus exists among NATO members about how to decide when to end Operation Unified Protector in Libya, based on guidelines that can be used to evaluate conditions on the ground there.

05 October 2011 Defense Secretary Panetta Cites Need for Greater Investment in NATO  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Europeans that NATO members need to take this moment to make the case for a greater investment in the alliance so it remains relevant to the security challenges of the future. Many on both sides of the Atlantic have recognized that NATO nations are at a critical moment, he said.
 • Remarks by Defense Secretary Panetta at Carnegie Europe  

03 October 2011 Panetta Visits Middle East, NATO to Reaffirm Relationships  In his first visit as defense secretary, Leon Panetta will meet with Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian leaders and will travel to NATO headquarters this week to reaffirm the Defense Department’s security relationships.

10 June 2011 Gates Says NATO Security Gains in Afghanistan Can Be Sustained  Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the gains made in Afghanistan by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force  over the past two years can take root and be sustained over time with proper allied support.   “Far too much has been accomplished, at far too great a cost, to let the momentum slip away just as the enemy is on its back foot,” Gates said in a speech to the Security and Defense Agenda conference in Brussels. His remarks came at the end of nearly three days of meetings by the NATO defense ministers.

10 June 2011 Reflections on the status and future of the transatlantic alliance  Secretary Gates said that "NATO has turned into a two-tiered alliance of members who consume security and those who produce it.  This is no longer a hypothetical worry.  We are there today.  And it is unacceptable.”

13 May 2011 Summary of Obama's Meeting with NATO Secretary General  The President and the Secretary General discussed Libya, where NATO and five partner nations are implementing the mandate of UN Security Council Resolution 1973 and are enforcing the no-fly zone, implementing the arms embargo, and protecting civilians from the violence inflicted on them by the Qadhafi regime.

07 March 2011 Readout of the North Atlantic Council Meetings on Libya  Special Briefing with Ivo Daalder, Permanent Representative to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Washington, DC.