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NATO ships to combat migrant-smuggling networks in Aegean NATO ships to combat migrant-smuggling networks in Aegean
(about 2 hours later)
BRUSSELS — NATO dispatched warships to the Aegean Sea on Thursday to target people-smuggling operations, marking the most direct intervention by the NATO alliance to cope with the huge wave of migrants seeking to reach Europe’s shores. BRUSSELS —NATO dispatched warships to the Aegean Sea on Thursday to target people-smuggling operations, marking the most direct intervention by the military alliance to cope with the huge wave of migrants seeking to reach Europe’s shores.
The NATO mission was put in motion after receiving U.S. backing from Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter. The operation — cobbled together during overnight talks — puts NATO ships on the front lines in combating smuggling networks in NATO-member Turkey. The smugglers have been a main pipeline for more than 1 million migrants who entered the European Union last year, setting off humanitarian and political crises across the continent.
The flotilla would put NATO ships on the front lines in combating smuggling operations from NATO-member Turkey that enabled more than 1 million migrants to enter the European Union last year — setting off humanitarian and political crises across Europe. NATO officials said Thursday that the effort seeks to monitor and disrupt the networks, which have so far focused on sending migrants and refugees across the narrow straits separating the Turkish coast and Greek islands.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg directed NATO maritime forces to immediately begin moving toward the eastern Aegean. NATO ally Greece has struggled to deal with the nonstop flow of migrants and refugees — many fleeing violence in Iraq and Syria. [Chart: The stunning expansion of the migrant crisis]
NATO has further plans to contribute to other operations in the region, including surveillance of illegal migration along the Turkey-Syria border.
But it remains unclear how NATO's plans will work in practice. The operation will be sea-based, while smugglers remain on land after asylum-seekers push off into Aegean waters, often on flimsy rubber boats.
Also left unclear is the degree of NATO responsibility for assisting refugees in distress as boats overturn or sink in rough seas.
The NATO mission reflects Europe's continuing difficulty in managing a crisis that has strained resources and exposed internal divisions. Although a NATO role has been discussed for months, the decision to launch the operation was unexpected and came together only after a blitz of talks.
The last piece was formal U.S. backing from Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, just days after other American officials had downplayed the idea.
Minutes after Carter announced U.S. support, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that he had directed NATO maritime forces to immediately move toward the eastern Aegean.
[New wave of Syrians toward Turkey, but face blocked border][New wave of Syrians toward Turkey, but face blocked border]
“It is important to respond swiftly because this crisis effects us all," Stoltenberg said. “It is important to respond swiftly because this crisis affects us all," Stoltenberg said.
Migrants continue to try the risky journey to islands in Greece, also a NATO ally, despite frigid waters that have claimed dozens of lives in recent weeks. Boatloads of migrants — sometimes more than 1,000 people a day — continue to attempt the risky journey to islands in Greece despite frigid waters that have claimed hundreds of lives in recent weeks.
Speaking in Brussels, Carter commended requests from Turkish, Greek and German authorities to create a joint-maritime mission that would patrol the eastern Aegean Sea. The U.S. endorsement was seen as crucial to the plan’s viability. Greece, a NATO member, has struggled to deal with the nonstop flow of people — most fleeing violence in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict zones. The exodus shows no sign of abating as international efforts to broker a peace deal in Syria founder.
"This is people’s lives and destinies at stake here and it's important to act quickly," Carter said. Speaking in Brussels, Carter commended requests from Turkish, Greek and German authorities to create a joint maritime mission that would patrol the Aegean Sea in the relatively narrow channels that separate Turkish and Greek shores.
Under the plan, three NATO vessels are to be tasked with reconnaissance and surveillance of known illegal trafficking routes in close cooperation with the European Union as well as Greek and Turkish coast guards. "This is people’s lives and destinies at stake here, and it's important to act quickly," Carter said.
Stoltenberg added that other NATO countries are looking to assist with the operation in the coming months. Under the plan, three NATO vessels under German command are to be tasked with reconnaissance and surveillance of known illegal trafficking routes in close cooperation with the European Union border forces, known as Frontex, as well as the Greek and Turkish coast guards.
[More migrants, more closed borders in Europe]
Stoltenberg added that other NATO countries are looking to assist the operation in the coming months.
"This is not about stopping and pushing back refugee boats," Stoltenberg said. The aim, he said, was to counter criminal activity."This is not about stopping and pushing back refugee boats," Stoltenberg said. The aim, he said, was to counter criminal activity.
Stoltenberg said the new agreement ensures that Greek and Turkish forces will not operate in each other's territorial waters.Stoltenberg said the new agreement ensures that Greek and Turkish forces will not operate in each other's territorial waters.
Greece has long accused Turkey of not doing enough to stop the flows. Turkey, in turn, has charged the European Union with being hypocritical and overly demanding, given the strains placed on Turkey by the massive numbers of refugees who have flowed across its border with Syria.
Other proposals to combat people smuggling, including an E.U. plan to challenge operations off the Libyan coast, have had relatively little impact and have struggled to get off the ground.
But in this case, the key could be cooperation between Greece and Turkey, former regional foes whose relations have warmed in recent decades.
NATO's top military commander said Thursday that the alliance's new mission in the Aegean came together overnight Wednesday, following the Turkish, Greek and German proposals. It was, said U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, "very prompt, quick" political decision-making.
But he acknowledged that much of the detail surrounding how the operation will function in practice remains to be clarified, including protocols on aiding sinking vessels.
"I can't talk about the specifics," Breedlove told reporters. "[There] was rapid decision-making, and now we have to go do some military work."
In a separate move, NATO tentatively approved deployment of early-warning aircraft to help in the fight against the Islamic State.
Karla Adam in London contributed to this report.Karla Adam in London contributed to this report.