Preface

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

In June of 1995, the XIIth International Workshop on Political-Military Decision Making was held in Dresden, Germany, at the invitation of then Defense Minister Volker Rühe, who was also the first Workshop "Patron." As Minister Rühe pointed out at the time, Dresden was the "most appropriate place for holding the Workshop" because the city, which was in the midst of a bustling reconstruction activity, reflected "the fundamental and rapid changes that had taken place in Europe" and symbolized the rebuilding of the former East Germany.

Five years later, the German government offered to host the Workshop again, this time in Germany's new capital city of Berlin. Consequently, the XVIIth Berlin International Workshop on Political-Military Decision Making took place from 2 to 5 June 2000 under the patronage of German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping. Like Dresden, Berlin is a city of symbolism. More than ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and in the wake of major changes in the political landscape of Europe, Berlin regained this year its position as the seat of government and the federal capital of Germany. In Governing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen's words, it also strives to be the future "cultural and social center of Germany and Central Europe."

The Workshop started with an opening dinner in the impressive Bärensaal of the Altes Stadthaus and a welcome by Lieutenant General Hartmut Moede, Stellvertreter des Generalinspekteurs der Bundeswehr. During the Opening Session in the Assembly Room of the Preussischer Landtag, German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping gave a keynote address and welcomed participants to Berlin. His remarks were followed by major addresses from Defense Minister Sergio Mattarella of Italy and NATO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Balanzino. President Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania spoke about the issue of NATO enlargement, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk-at his seventh Workshop-discussed Ukrainian relations with NATO and Europe. At the Rotes Rathaus, participants were welcomed by Berlin's charismatic mayor, Mr. Eberhard Diepgen, for a special luncheon . The afternoon started with a panel on Russia's Role in European Security, with insights provided by Russian Ambassador to NATO Sergei Kislyak and Deputy Chief of the Russian Defense Staff, Colonel General Alexander Sergeyevich Skvortzov. A session on National Missile Defense followed, with remarks from Dr. David Martin of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Ambassador to NATO. Lieutenant General Richard Wolsztynski, the Vice Chief of Defense Staff of France, concluded the day with a presentation on ESDI from a military perspective.

The second day of Workshop sessions included a major address on NATO's future by Admiral Guido Venturoni, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee; a special panel by Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Joseph Ralston and his subordinate commanders-General Rupert Smith, Admiral James Ellis, and General Joachim Spiering-on the "Challenges Facing European Security;" an address on the disparity in capabilities within the Alliance by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Rudy de Leon; and a NATO Defense Minister session with Minister Rudolf Scharping, Minister Hans Hækkerup of Denmark and Minister Apostolos Tsohatzopoulos of Greece.

A unique aspect of the International Workshops on Political-Military Decision Making is its industry participation. In Berlin, participants had the opportunity to hear perspectives from defense and aerospace industry leaders including Mr. Rainer Hertrich, CEO of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS); Mr. John Weston, Chief Executive, BAE Systems; Dr. Giorgio Zappa, President, Alenia Aerospace; Mr. William Lawler, Vice President of Boeing Military Aircraft and Missiles; Dr. Thomas Enders, Executive Vice President and member of the Executive Committee of EADS; Mr. Ralph Crosby, President and Chief Operating Officer, Integrated Systems and Aerostructures Sector at the Northrop Grumman Corporation; and Dr. Robert Trice, Vice President Business Development at the Lockheed Martin Corporation.

In a timely panel on the prospects for peace and reconstruction in Kosovo and Southeastern Europe chaired by former SACEUR General George Joulwan, Defense Minister Luan Hajdaraga of Albania, Foreign Minister Aleksander Dimitrov of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Slovakia's Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan shared their views. Other important Workshop events included addresses by State Secretary Walther Stützle from the German Ministry of Defense; U.S. Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology David Oliver; Dr. Jay Davis, Director of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency; General Klaus Naumann, former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee; and Admiral Jacques Lanxade, former Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces.

During the three days of the Workshop, participants had the opportunity to experience some of the wonderful sights that Berlin has to offer, both new and old. The agenda attempted to showcase some of Berlin's architectural diversity. Participants had lunch at the modern Ludwig Erhard Haus or "Armadillo" designed by architect Nicholas Grimshaw and at the high-tech Sony Center in the middle of the "new" Berlin by architect Helmut Jahn. An evening dinner cruise on the Wannsee aboard the "La Paloma" ship gave participants and their spouses the opportunity to enjoy some of Berlin's natural beauty. The Post-Workshop Dinner at the Deutsche Bank in former East Berlin, designed by architect Benedict Tonon, also gave participants the opportunity to take a private tour of the adjacent Deutsche Guggenheim Museum. We would like to thank the city of Berlin and its mayor, Mr. Eberhard Diepgen, for extending the Workshop a warm welcome at the Rotes Rathaus.

The German government gave generous and enthusiastic support for the Workshop and was a splendid host. We would especially like to thank Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping for the personal role he played in making the 2000 Berlin Workshop possible and for hosting a memorable and original "Kitchen Party" at the Hotel Palace. The support of many German political and military officials, not only during the Workshop but throughout the Workshop's planning phase, was invaluable. We would like to thank Lieutenant General Harald Kujat, who in his position as Director of the Planning Staff for the German Ministry of Defense, was extremely helpful. A special thank you goes to German Protocol Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Heinz-Joachim Neumann, for his tremendous help and hard work both during the planning and the execution of the Workshop. His extreme professionalism, political savvy and organizational skills were invaluable to the Workshop in all respects. He brought to the Workshop a team of first-rate officers whom we would also like to thank: Lieutenant Colonel Heinz Jürgen Schrumpf, Major Ralf Ruyters, Captain Alfred B. Werth, and Ms. Ursula Albrecht.

As usual, the Center for Strategic Decision Research provided its own team of highly-qualified staff members for the Workshop, and we are grateful for their hard work. The team included Ms. Mary L. Wu, Ms. Whitney Hischier, Mr. Jean-Pierre Campbell, Ms. Paulina Dziamka, Ms. Manon van der Horden, Mr. Hank Keese, Ms. Emily Miller, and Mr. Ajay Sreekanth. Ms. Elena Dokucheva, who was not able to join us in Berlin, helped with the planning and organization of the Workshop in our California offices. At Strategic Decisions Press, the editing team of Anne Baylon with Carol Whiteley and Alice Kleeman put the book in final form. We especially appreciate the help of Kevin Cotter of House of Printing in Mountain View, California, which printed these Proceedings.

The Hotel Palace in Berlin's Europa Center served as the venue for the Workshop sessions and provided accommodations for most of the Workshop participants. The Palace is one of the finest hotels with which we have worked in the past 17 years, and we are grateful for their hospitality and professionalism. We enjoyed working with their extremely skilled and competent staff. Special thanks go to Mr. Karl Stiehle, the General Manager, and Mr. Kurt Lehrke, the Resident Manager. Thank you also to Ms. Petra Rettig of the hotel's accounting department, Ms. Diana Strauss and Ms. Sabine Fischer, both of whom worked diligently on our account; Mr. Ralf Räther, the Head Concierge; the entire Catering Department and First Floor Restaurant for providing wonderful meals and service; and Housekeeping for their role in providing a comfortable and clean environment.

Of course, the Workshop would not be possible without the support of our sponsors-both from government and private industry. BDLI, the Bundesverband der Deutschen Luft-und Raumfahrtindustrie, deserves special recognition for their support of the Berlin Workshop, and we would like to thank Dr. Hans Birke for his role in BDLI's participation. We would like to warmly thank the following organizations and companies: Adaptive Broadband, Alenia Aerospazio, Association of the United States Army, BAE Systems, U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, The Boeing Company, EADS, U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Deputy Under Secretary of the Army for International Affairs, General Dynamics Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Net Assessment, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon International Inc., TERMA Elektronik AS, and U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology.

We wish to thank all of the Workshop participants for attending the Berlin Workshop and for contributing their perspectives to the Workshop dialogue. The purpose of the International Workshop Series is, and always has been, to bring together political, military, and industry leaders to discuss pertinent issues facing transatlantic security. To this end, our Center's goal is to provide a conducive and interesting setting for these discussions to take place. Despite our best efforts, there are likely many names we unintentionally omitted in our attempt to thank individuals for their special contributions to the XVIIth International Workshop on Political-Military Decision Making in Berlin. We apologize for any oversights.

As final acknowledgements, we would like to thank Stanford University Law School for renewing its grant to Mary Wu, J.D., thereby permitting her to contribute her talent and energy to our research institute for an additional year; we would also like to recognize the importance to the Workshop of the Graduate School of Business of the University of California at Berkeley, which contributed three members of its M.B.A. class of 2001 to our Berlin Workshop staff. Above all, the Workshop's success was the achievement of the German government and, especially, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Defense Protokoll Office, and Lieutenant Colonel Heinz-Joachim Neumann's outstanding team.

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