Biden to lead U.S. delegation at Munich

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Biden to lead U.S. delegation at Munich
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, January 31, 2009

STUTTGART, Germany — Vice President Joe Biden will lead the U.S. delegation at next week’s Munich Security Conference, where top Western political leaders and defense policy experts are expected to take a hard look at the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

Retired Gen. James L. Jones, former commander of U.S. European Command and current national security adviser to the White House, will be accompanying Biden during the visit to Germany, according to the vice president’s office.

There will be much to debate at the Feb. 6-8 conference, which will involve speeches and panel discussions on an array of trans-Atlantic security concerns.

"Biden will carry the message that we expect them (European allies) to help carry the load, not just as NATO in Afghanistan, but with all the other problems — Iran, Russia, Iraq, the Middle East, the economy and so forth," a senior unnamed official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Indeed, much has happened since last year’s gathering. For starters, there was the brief war in August between U.S. ally Georgia and Russia, which added stress to an already strained relationship between America and its old Cold War foe.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60362