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Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates vocalized his ongoing concern about Europe’s lacking contributions to NATO, and said that European public and political opposition to the military was directly affecting operations in Afghanistan. Here’s what he said on Tuesday at the National Defense University: “The demilitarization of Europe — where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it — has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st.” Mr. Gates’s comments came just after the dispute over keeping Dutch troops in Afghanistan. Allied support has never been more critical in helping our effort in Afghanistan, and hopefully his blunt comments will have a positive impact – unlike the “Old Europe” comment from his predecessor. What do you all think?

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Every so often we like to extend the concept of the Monday Morning News Kick Off post to the middle of the week — especially when there is tons of GEOINT-related news happening. As such, this week, we are running a Wednesday News Round Up post that includes stories about some insightful commentary from our friends at V1 Magazine on mapping and Haiti relief; news about Gary Payton “slamming” space firm’s quality; and much, much more. And, since many of you are nestled into your home offices today (wow, white our blizzard happening now in DC!), hopefully this news round up is exactly what you need to kick start your Wednesday.

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We were able to find the video of General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, briefing his troops right after President Obama’s big speech about the troop surge in Afghanistan. And, Gen. McChrystal has welcomed President Obama’s revised strategy and his decision to add 30,000 troops to the effort, even though the general was reported to have wanted at least 10,000 more.

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