NATO has decided to offer partnership for peace memberships to Bosnia, Montenegro, and Serbia, joining another 20 countries in Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia that work with NATO countries in individual ways. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters the decision is “a very important political step” primarily because it helps bring the “full region more fully into the Euro-Atlantic family.” He added, though, that the Alliance expects Bosnia and Serbia to “cooperate fully with the International Tribunal.”
On Jan. 4, a dozen U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors departed Puerto Rico, where they had landed following their participation in Operation Absolute Resolve. Those fighters appeared to have flown directly from their home base at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., to participate in the operation and returned there two days…

