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The Canadians and the Dutch may be anguishing over their combat commitments in southern Afghanistan, but the Romanians at this lonely outpost near a major Taliban infiltration route through the mountains from Pakistan have no such worries. The men of Romania's elite 33rd Mountain Battalion joke that almost nobody at home is even aware that their military, which is one of NATO's newest members, has been fighting alongside the Canadians, Dutch, British and Americans in southern Afghanistan. "Honestly, I don't think our people know what we do," said Lieut. Ganea Alin, who leads a platoon overseeing checkpoints on a road...

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania: A significant step toward the first long-term U.S. military presence on territory of the former Communist bloc was taken as American and Romanian forces began three months of joint training exercises. American and Romanian forces began three months of joint training exercises Monday at this Black Sea air base, a significant step toward the first long-term U.S. military presence on territory of the former Communist bloc. The exercises involve 700 American and Romanian military personnel and several hundred support staff members, focusing on light infantry training. The main purpose of the operation is to test...

LOGISTICAL SUPPORT AREA ADDER, Iraq, May 15, 2007 — There are differences in uniform, equipment and language, but to members of the Romanian Army’s 495th Infantry Battalion and their coalition partners, the similarities among troops are more important. The Romanian paratrooper unit patrols certain areas in southern Iraq, provides a quick reaction force for British Explosive Ordnance Disposal units, and maintains a safe route for convoys 24 hours a day. While the soldiers are trained in airborne operations, scuba diving and climbing, they are “just infantry guys” during their missions in Iraq, their commander, Lt. Col. George Constantin said. Their...

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - The Romanian legislature approved an agreement Wednesday allowing the United States to use four military bases and station up to 3,000 troops in the country. Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu praised the agreement, saying for decades many Romanians had "only one hope: that the American troops would come and free us from Communism." Today, however, "Romania is no longer a victim looking for a saviour but a partner of the United States in the fight against terrorism," he said. Legislators voted 257-1, with 29 nationalists abstaining, to approve the 10-year agreement, which was signed in December...

Romanians Securing Vital Afghan Highway By DENIS D. GRAY Associated Press Writer HIGHWAY 1, Afghanistan The Romanian soldier quietly makes the sign of the cross, then thrusts his rifle through the narrow slit of an armored vehicle as it rolls toward one of the most vital - and dangerous - highways in Afghanistan. As night falls, machine gunners constantly rotate their turrets and searchlights on the four patrol vehicles and rake the passing countryside for possible ambush sites amid rocky outcrops, mud-brick farm houses and orchards of blossoming almond trees. The Romanian presence, analyst say, is an example of what...

WASHINGTON Romanian President Traian Basescu took aim Tuesday at Russia, indirectly accusing the country of benefiting from the continuing "frozen conflicts" in countries such as Georgia and Moldova. "The single winner of the extended period of having frozen conflicts is the country which doesn't like to have democratic development," Basescu said. "It is the country which still continues to believe that different countries can be controlled for next decade or for the next century," he said. Basescu's comments were delivered via an international video hookup in Bucharest to a gathering of experts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies...

BUCHAREST, Romania | “It took them more than 60 years – but better late than never!” This is how 82-year-old Dimitrie Balus greeted the news that the United States would soon station troops permanently in Romania. The Transylvanian villager is one of the many Romanians who after World War II hoped for American troops to come and liberate their country from Russian occupation. Sixteen years after the collapse of the Soviet bloc and three years after former Warsaw Pact member Romania joined NATO, it’s official: the Americans are coming. NO MORE COLD WAR U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and...

SOFIA, July 29 (KUNA) -- There is no intention to withdraw Romanian troops participating in the Multi-National Force (MNF) in Iraq, said Friday Romania's President Traian Basescu. According to Romania's Rom News Network (RNN), Basescu said the Romanian force will perform its duties until the Iraqi authorities are capable of independently maintaining peace and stability, adding that the MNF will not leave Iraq before the end of 2006 as it was previously decided. While saying that a wave of violence might break out in Iraq and the region if the MNF leaves before stabilizing the situation, he explained that all...

BUCHAREST – Staunch U.S. ally Romania remains committed to keeping its troops in Iraq as long as they are needed by the Iraqi government, President Traian Basescu said on Thursday. Grateful to Washington for its support of Bucharest's bid to join NATO, Romania was a loyal ally in the war that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, contributing about 800 troops to U.S.-led forces. "We remain committed to helping Iraq's stabilization," Basescu told a group of foreign reporters. Washington has avoided suggesting a timetable for the withdrawal of troops, whose mandate expires at the end of 2006. But the U.S. top...

WASHINGTON - Romania's foreign minister said Friday his government would keep its troops in Iraq supporting postwar operations despite the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists. "We will not yield to blackmail," Foreign Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu said. "What is not at stake is Romanian foreign policy." Winding up a visit to Washington, he said plans for relocating some U.S. troops now in Germany to Romania were proceeding. A U.S. delegation is expected to go to Romania and also to Bulgaria within two weeks to discuss the shift. Romania is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization "and we've had...

Romania hits back at French 'lecturing'By George Parker in BucharestPublished: April 18 2005 21:38 | Last updated: April 18 2005 21:38 Romania's president has warned France to stop lecturing his country over its close links with London and Washington as he prepares to sign the treaty to join the European Union.  Traian Basescu (pictured) says he wants to form a "special relationship" with the US and Britain to improve security in the Black Sea region, and he also aligns himself with London's liberal economic policies.Mr Basescu's stance has infuriated France, Romania's biggest supporter in the EU, and could exacerbate...

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Defence Minister Teodor Atanasiu announced that Romania would send additional troops to Iraq, Rompres reported on Friday (11 February). The move is in response to a request from US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who called on all NATO states to boost their contributions. Romania will send additional troops in March and will help train Iraqi officers. (Rompres - 11/02/05)

This time next year, a memorial to the world's 100 million victims of communism will be unveiled in Washington, D.C. More than just a tribute to the martyred, the proposed monument near the Capitol will symbolize the ties between the world's greatest democracy and its friends like Romania, which is celebrating 14 years of freedom from communist tyranny. As we ring in the new year, Romanians will raise our glasses to toast our renewed friendship. Our two nations are fighting proudly for freedom and democracy in Iraq and speaking as one voice against global terrorism and the spread of nuclear...

<p>BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania's intelligence service said Thursday that it averted terrorist attacks planned by Iraq against Western and Israeli targets in Romania.</p> <p>In a statement Thursday, the country's spy service said it established in the months before the war that Iraqi operatives were planning "to organize terrorist attacks on Israeli and Western targets."</p>

Romania is defying warnings about its future membership of the European Union and positioning itself with the US to ensure it benefits from any postwar reconstruction projects in Iraq. The government has taken a diplomatic risk by offering its unquestioning support to the US in the face of French and German opposition. France's President Jacques Chirac has told Romania its possible 2007 accession to the EU is in danger because of its support for the US. Romania, along with other eastern European countries is hoping for a short-term reward in Nato membership and in the long run hopes to benefit...