Credibility is what makes NATO the longest-lasting and most successful alliance in Western history, and underlies its attractiveness to old and new members and to aspirant countries as well.

In a few weeks, the Baltic countries will formally become our allies in NATO. Today the Baltics are our allies in Iraq, where several Baltic soldiers have been wounded and one killed.

The annual international conference on NATO enlargement organized by the New Atlantic Initiative (NAI) was postponed this year and the Latvian president, expected to join the conference in Budapest in late September, will stay home, reported a presidential spokeswoman.

Before meeting with President Clinton to sign a Charter of Partnership, the presidents of the three Baltic nations were the honored guests at a reception and dinner at AEI.

Where interpretation of history is concerned, President George W. Bush backs the views of the Baltic states: the Soviet Union occupied Eastern Europe rather than liberating it. The Baltic Times published excerpts from Bush's letter to Latvian President Vajra Vike-Freiberge, where he emphasizes that the end of World War II meant liberation only for Western Europe. "In Central and Eastern Europe the war meant Soviet occupation and the annexation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and installation of the communist regime," Bush wrote.

Flash points in the United States top the list of potential threats to the global economy in 2010.

Russia maybe reverting back to old, aggressivetactics to claim oil and gasreserves in the Arctic regions.

2010 threatens to be another challenging year for the global economy.