Center for Strategic Decision Research

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Preface

Dr. Roger Weissinger-Baylon
Workshop Chairman and Founder
Director, Center for Strategic Decision Research

In the fall of 1992, the government of Hungary, headed by Prime Minister Jozsef Antall, extended a warm invitation to the Center for Strategic Decision Research to hold a Workshop in Budapest. This invitation led to the Xth NATO Workshop on Political-Military Decision Making in June 1993, the first NATO Workshop ever to be welcomed in a former Warsaw Pact country. As Hungarian President Árpád Göncz noted at the time, the Workshop was to acquire historic significance because “we [had] begun thinking together with the former other side.” This process of “common thinking and broad exchange of strategic views” has continued ever since.

Six years later and in the wake of a series of democratic changes throughout Central Europe, Hungary, now a full NATO member, repeated its offer to host a Workshop. As a result, the XVIth International NATO Workshop was held in Budapest, under the patronage of President Göncz, on 20-23 June 1999. We want to express our gratitude to President Göncz and the Hungarian government—particularly Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament János Áder, Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly Géza Gyimóthy, Foreign Minister Dr. János Martonyi, Defense Minister Dr. János Szabó, State Secretary for Political Affairs János Homoki, Under-Secretary for Policy Lajos Fodor, and Deputy Director General Anna Felkai—for their warm welcome and remarkable support of the Workshop. The day-to-day organization of the Workshop and arrangements for the Spouses’ Program were masterfully coordinated by Counsellor Dr. Gábor Friss of the Foreign Ministry and, in the Defense Ministry, by Mr. Peter Gyila, Ms. Kinga Magyar, Mr. Peter Salamon, Mr. Roland Farkas of the NATO Cooperation Department and Mr. Dezsö Hajós, Head of the Information Division.  

Many other Hungarian government representatives also helped along the way. Although we cannot list all their names individually, their important contributions and hard work are gratefully acknowledged. Mr. László Balogh, Head of section of the Hungarian National Police, and his team, provided excellent security for all participants. We want to thank Budapest Mayor, Mr. Gábor Demszky, for hosting the final Workshop luncheon and Szentendre Mayor, Mr. Gábor Miakich, for welcoming the spouses and hosting a lunch at the guest house of the Prime Minister’s office. The opening reception at the War History Museum hosted by Foreign Minister Martonyi and Defense Minister Szabó was an opportunity for participants to enjoy a performance by the Honved Hungarian Choir ensemble and the Jaszsag Folkloric dance group. At NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Ambassador Dr. András Simonyi and Mr. Zoltan Nagy, of the Hungarian Mission to NATO, provided helpful advice and coordination.

Ideally located on the Buda hillside of Budapest with a commanding view over the Danube river, Pest and the Hungarian Parliament, the Hilton Hotel was responsible for the Workshop accommodation and catering. Working as a team with the Budapest Hilton on the preparation and execution of the Workshop was a rewarding experience.  The personal involvement of the hotel manager, Dr. György Némedi, combined with his staff’s willingness to be flexible and accommodate us in our requirements, were remarkable. We want to thank in particular Mr. Balázs Kovács, Mr. László Pólik, Mr. Géza Benedek, Mr. Gábor Korenchy, Mr. Péter Zwickl and Ms. Kata Komáromy for their outstanding efforts in helping make the Workshop a success.

Three presidents of countries addressed the participants in Budapest: Hungarian President and Workshop Patron Árpád Göncz gave a welcoming toast in the Hunter Room of the Hungarian National Parliament Building. President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski, the Patron of the 1996 XIIIth NATO Workshop in Warsaw and a participant in the Workshops since then, talked about Poland’s role within NATO in the changing security environment. Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus expressed his country’s support for NATO’s operations in Kosovo and offered Lithuania’s perspective on NATO enlargement and European security.

After an introduction by Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Guido Venturoni, NATO Secretary General Dr. Javier Solana delivered the Keynote Address of the Workshop on the theme of how to restore peace in Kosovo, prevent future conflicts and promote stability in Europe. Supreme Allied Commander, Europe General Wesley Clark presented a panel—together with General Rupert Smith, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; Admiral James Ellis, Jr., Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe; General Joachim Spiering, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe; and Lieutenant General Odd Vincent Skjøstad, Chief of Staff Allied Forces Northwestern Europe—that offered an impressive analysis of the NATO air campaign. From July 1997 to June 1999, General Clark accepted the Center for Strategic Decision Research’s invitation  to be Workshop Honorary Chairman. Since he will be retiring soon, we wish him well in his future endeavors.

In addition to members of the Hungarian government and speakers already mentioned above, we would like to express our warmest thanks to the eminent contributors who, either individually, in panels, or as chairmen of Workshop sessions, presented their views at the Workshop. Their names appear under the contributors’ list.

Over the years, many organizations have helped the Center for Strategic Decision Research fund the NATO Workshop series, which will complete its XVIIth year with the upcoming NATO Workshop in Berlin. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the sponsors whose organizations are listed in these Workshop Proceedings: Mr. Fred Lawrence (Adaptive Broadband); Ing. Dr. Giorgio Zappa, Mr. Pierre Andrea Felici (Alenia Aerospazio); General Jack N. Merritt (Ret.) (Association of the United States Army); Major General Peter C. Franklin, Dr. J. David Martin, Mr. David Kiefer (Ballistic Missile Defense Organization); General Jean Boyle, Mr. Robert Draper, Mr. Clark Little, Mr. Fred Spivey, Mr. Nolan Stripling (The Boeing Company); Mr. John Weston, Mr. Simon Carr, Prof. Dr. Margarita Mathiopoulos (British Aerospace plc); Mr. Lars Josefsson, Mr. Christer Ros (Celsius AB); Mr. Wolf-Peter Denker (Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace); Dr. Jay Davis, Dr. Edward M. Ifft, Major General Randall Peat (Ret.), Mr. William Daitch (Defense Threat Reduction Agency); General George Joulwan, Mr. Michael Wynne (General Dynamics); Mr. Robert Clifford, Mr. Scott Harris (Lockheed-Martin); Vice Admiral Sir Nicholas Hill-Norton (Marconi Electronic Systems); Mr. John Slaybaugh (The MITRE Corporation); Vice Admiral James A. King (NATO Military Comm.); Mr. Andrew Marshall, Mrs. Rebecca Bash (Net Assessment); Mr. Ralph Crosby, Mr. Thomas Darcy, Mr. Harry Pearce (Northrop-Grumman); Brigadier General Jack Pellicci (Ret.) (Oracle Corporation); Mr. Mark N. Clark, Vice Admiral Norman Ray (Ret.), Mr. John Scherer, Mr. Chris Shore, Mr. George Speake (Raytheon Systems Company); Lieutenant General Paul G. Cerjan (Ret.) (Regent University); Mr. Eugene Gay, Brigadier General Tip Osterthaler (Ret.) (SAIC); Major General Ole Fogh (Ret.) (TERMA Elektronik AS); Mr. Vince Roske, Colonel Frank Gorenc, Lieutenant Commander David Melin (United States Joint Chiefs of Staff).

Throughout our preparations, the NATO Workshop Advisory Board has played an important role in the Workshop by contributing ideas and useful advice to the development of the agenda. We appreciate the board members’ willingness to join and serve as advisers: President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus; Ambassador Fernando Andresen Guimarães, Permanent Representative of Portugal to NATO; Justice Minister of Latvia Dr. Valdis Birkavs; Dr. Manfred Bischoff, Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace AG; Ambassador Joachim Bitterlich, Former Permanent Representative of Germany to NATO; General (Ret.) Jean Boyle, Boeing International Corporation; General Wesley K. Clark, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; Lieutenant General Paul Cerjan, President, Regent University; Mr. Ralph Crosby, Corporate Vice President, Northrop-Grumman Corporation; Mr. Gordon R. England, Executive Vice President of General Dynamics; Air Chief Marshal Sir David Evans (Ret.), Former CinC United Kingdom Air Forces; Minister of Defense of Austria Dr. Werner Fasslabend; Lieutenant General G. J. Folmer (Ret.), Netherlands Delegate to the NATO Workshop; U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology Dr. Jacques S. Gansler; Vice Admiral Sir Nicholas Hill-Norton (Ret.), Defense Advisor, Marconi Electronic Systems; Mr. Lars Josefsson, President and CEO, Celsius AB; General George A. Joulwan (Ret.), Former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; Ambassador Karel Kovanda, Czech Ambassador to NATO; General Jack N. Merritt (Ret.), President Emeritus, Association of the United States Army; Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Nadezhda Mihailova; General Klaus Naumann, Former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee; Minister of Defense of Bulgaria Boyko Noev; Vice Admiral John T. Parker (Ret.), President, J. T. Parker Associates, Inc.; Mr. Harry Pearce, Vice President, Northrop-Grumman International; Mr. John Quilty, Senior Vice President, MITRE Corporation; General John Shalikashvili (Ret.), Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; General Dieter Stöckmann, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe; Foreign Minister of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk; Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States Alexandr Vondra; Mr. John Weston, Chief Executive, British Aerospace plc; Lieutenant General Klaus Wiesmann, German Military Representative to NATO Military Committee; Mr. Michael Wynne, Senior Vice President, General Dynamics Corporation; Ing. Dr. Giorgio Zappa, President, Alenia Aerospazio.  

This year’s international Workshop staff was led by Mary Wu, Chief of Staff, and Associate Director and Legal Counsel for the Center for Strategic Decision Research. At CSDR in California, Anne Baylon, Workshop Director, Mary Wu and Whitney Hischier, Staff Director, worked intensively on the Workshop planning. Workshop returnees included Michele Soukin from the Boeing Company, Manon van der Horden from the office of the Canadian Military Representative to NATO, Ulrik Ahnfelt-Mollerup from Denmark and Caroline Baylon who joined us from Italy. From SHAPE, we especially appreciated the help of Lieutenant Colonel Harry Driessen, Deputy Chief of Protocol, Staff Sergeant Pete Lyke, and Lieutenant Colonel Michael Kammerer, Public Information Officer. Several new staff members also contributed greatly to the Workshop’s success, including Jean-Pierre Campbell with his work on the Workshop database, Hank Keese and Dennis McCartney from DTRA’s field office in Belgium with their help on transportation, and Terry Sheffield, also from DTRA’s field office, accompanied by his wife, with their help on the Spouses’ Program. Lieutenant Commander David Melin from the JCS and Captain Rob Vercher also joined us from the office of the Secretary of Defense. CSDR wishes to express its thanks and gratitude to each person on the 1999 Workshop’s international staff for contributing uniquely and invaluably to the Workshop’s success.

Dr. Roger Weissinger-Baylon and Anne D. Baylon
Center for Strategic Decision Research
Menlo Park, California
January 2000


 

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