In Search of A Mission
By JAMES GRAFF
Before Sept. 11 NATO seemed to be on a roll. It was set to hammer home its uncontested status as the world’s most powerful military alliance in Prague by adding up to seven new members, some of which were once under Soviet domination.
Expansion will go ahead in November as planned, but glory will prove elusive. For the alliance has been dogged by charges of irrelevance in the face of the gravest security crisis since its founding.
NATO was quick to proclaim solidarity with its lead member against al-Qaeda but beyond that contributed little. Granted, NATO is busier than ever, with forces under its command in Bosnia and Kosovo, and AWACS planes deployed over America.
Yet in terms of military capability, the gulf between the U.S. and its European allies yawns wider than ever. The Bush Administration isn’t likely to burn bridges, but expect Washington to continue goading its allies to get serious.
On second thought ... Mutterings among conservative Republicans about weak-kneed allies could metamorphose into open calls for American unilateralism, to the detriment of the alliance and of European security.
The European Union — Time to Join the Club?
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