Bulgarian Defense Minister, Former US Security Advisor Talk Security

Gen. James Jones, US President Barack Obama's former national security advisor arrived Thursday on an official visist to Bulgaria. Photo by BGNES

International terrorism, the negative effects of globalization, cyber attacks, the financial crisis and climate change were among the key issues on the agenda of Thursday's public discussion between Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov and Gen. James Jones, US President Barack Obama's former national security advisor.

"Ordinary citizens may find some of these threats quite abstract but we can all see what is happening in Libya, Afghanistan and Norway", Angelov said, as quoted by Bulgarian Dnevnik daily.

He explained that the dividing line between national and international issues was becoming increasingly blurred as emergency situations in any country took their toll on the entire planet.

General Jones spoke about issues of information transfer.

"The world is growing smaller and smaller, everything becomes common knowledge fast, which also helps the spread of terrorism", he explained, calling for a change in instruments of power of the government.

Both Jones and Angelov believe that money spent on military operations is not money thrown into the wind.

The former national security advisor believes that the political environment in these countries is getting calm and they have good potential for individual development

He pointed out Africa's homeland security as the weakest, adding that no progress could be witnessed there, as well as in the authoritarian regime in North Korea.

The discussion was organized by the Sofia-based think-tank Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), the Initiative for the Development of Southeast Europe and the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense.

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov will award Jones with the highest-rank Bulgarian medal, the Stara Planina order (First Degree) on Friday.

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