Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/1673

 117 STAT. 1654

PUBLIC LAW 108–136—NOV. 24, 2003

Subtitle D—Other Reports and Sense of Congress Statements 22 USC 1928 note.

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VerDate 11-MAY-2000

10:15 Aug 27, 2004

SEC. 1231. ANNUAL REPORT ON THE NATO PRAGUE CAPABILITIES COMMITMENT AND THE NATO RESPONSE FORCE.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: (1) At the meeting of the North Atlantic Council held in Prague in November 2002, the heads of states and governments of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) launched a Prague Capabilities Commitment and decided to create a NATO Response Force. (2) The Prague Capabilities Commitment is part of the continuing NATO effort to improve and develop new military capabilities for modern warfare in a high-threat environment. As part of this commitment, individual NATO allies have made firm and specific political commitments to improve their capabilities in the areas of— (A) chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense; (B) intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition; (C) air-to-ground surveillance; (D) command, control, and communications; (E) combat effectiveness, including precision guided munitions and suppression of enemy air defenses; (F) strategic air and sea lift; (G) air-to-air refueling; and (H) deployable combat support and combat service support units. (3) The NATO Response Force is envisioned to be a technologically advanced, flexible, deployable, interoperable, and sustainable force that includes land, sea, and air elements ready to move quickly to wherever needed, as determined by the North Atlantic Council. The NATO Response Force is also intended to be a catalyst for focusing and promoting improvements in NATO’s military capabilities. It is expected to have initial operational capability by October 2004, and full operational capability by October 2006. (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) Not later than January 31 of each year through 2008, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional committees specified in paragraph (5) a report, to be prepared in consultation with the Secretary of State, on implementation of the Prague Capabilities Commitment and development of the NATO Response Force by the member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (2) The annual report under this subsection shall include the following matters: (A) A description of the actions taken by NATO as a whole and by each member nation of NATO other than the United States to further the Prague Capabilities Commitment, including any actions taken to improve capability shortfalls in the areas identified for improvement. (B) A description of the actions taken by NATO as a whole and by each member nation of NATO, including the United States, to create the NATO Response Force. (C) A discussion of the relationship between NATO’s efforts to improve capabilities through the Prague Capabilities

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