National caveats
United States officials have urged NATO countries to eliminate caveats, and some steps have been taken to lift them, but the problem appears to remain. At the Riga Summit NATO nations agreed to lift caveats in a time of an emergency, however the definition of an emergency is debatable. The problem of National Caveats is not new and was identified as a problem during theRiga Summit
In November 2006, NATO held the Riga Summit. At the meetings, PresidentAfghanistan
Afghanistan is NATO's greatest test as to national caveats. The 28 nation alliance is now leading theIraq
Caveats are also applied in Iraq. According to an article written by Major General Rick Lynch and Lieutenant Colonel Phillip D. Janzen, US Army,May 2006, "Looking to the Future: NATO Training Mission-Iraq," US ARMY PROFESSIONAL WRITING COLLECTION , http://www.army.mil/professionalwriting/volumes/volume4/may_2006/5_06_2.html "National caveats on personnel participating in NATO-led operations are not a new challenge. Lessons learned from operations in the Balkans often emphasize the impact of caveats on that mission. Nations contributing personnel to the NATO Training Mission - Iraq (NTM-I) also apply operational caveats to their force offerings, to include restrictions on the place of duty and length of deployment. Operational impacts from caveats are countless but include restricting force protection troops from securing vehicle convoys. Another case involves limiting personnel to duty in Baghdad's International Zone."References