Italy's Foreign Minister leads the push to create a European army for the post-Lisbon EU. As a new Europe takes shape following the adoption of the Lisbon treaty the Minister suggests that Europe should not be left behind the superpowers.

Israel has launched a major civil defense exercise amid fears of war.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has told United States President George W Bush that Australian troops are in Afghanistan for the long haul.

NATO foreign ministers have met in Brussels to discuss the need for more troops in Afghanistan, and the accession hopes of three Balkan nations.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt met with his Afghan counterpart Dr Ranging Dafar Spanta in Stockholm Tuesday, and protested against the death sentence passed against the 23 year old Afghan journalist Perwiz Kambakhsh.

U.S. Democratic Senator Joseph Biden says Washington must focus on securing Afghanistan because if it fails, then neighboring Pakistan could be next.

Senior British diplomat Paddy Ashdown says defeat is a real possibility in Afghanistan, unless NATO changes its strategy.

There has been no shortage of dire predictions recently of the potentially disastrous consequences if NATO does not pull together to put more troops and equipment on the ground in Afghanistan.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says Afghanistan must step up its fight against the Taliban.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says any failure of NATO forces in Afghanistan could prompt new terrorist attacks in other parts of the world.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband have made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province, a former Taliban stronghold.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, are emphasizing the importance of NATO cooperation in the fight against insurgents. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.