On 26 January, Anders Fogh Rasmussen launched the first ever ‘Annual Report’, which gives a brief overview of NATO’s principal achievements and challenges in 2011. This assessment of Alliance activities focuses on four areas: NATO operations, emerging security challenges, the modernization of NATO – its structures and capabilities - as well as NATO’s growing partnerships. These areas are examined against the backdrop of the financial crisis and are preceded by a foreword from the Secretary General.
Sixty years ago, on 18 February 1952, Greece and Turkey became members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This was the first round of enlargement for the Alliance, only three years after its creation.
When we call for greater security, the soldiers tell us they are here for rebuilding. When we call for rebuilding, they state they are here for the security. In the end, they guarantee neither. 
The Munich Security Conference took place last week. International security leaders met at Munich’s Bayerische Hof hotel in order to discuss current and forthcoming international security issues. The conference organised a series of panels that fostered debate and fruitful discussion among senior experts around the world. The discussions were as follows: 
This May in Chicago, NATO members will gather to discuss the future of the Alliance. It is expected that priority will be given to major topics such as the transition of the Afghan security or NATO's missile shield. However, the resonance given to these major issues sometimes hides the significance of other topics pivotal to NATO; among them smart defence, that may be the most challenging security issue NATO of this upcoming decade.
The Arab Spring has raised many hopes in Syria for those who fight to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's repressive regime. Since March 2011, the dictator engaged the country in a crawling civil war, killing at least 4000 people according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that published the figure in December 2, 2011. 
Ambassador Simon Gass is NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan. In an interview with NATOchannel.tv 2 weeks into the new year, he talked about the priorities for 2012 and highlighted a number of different issues.