THE CASE FOR EXPANDING NATO

This week's NATO summit in Madrid is a defining moment for the transatlantic community on the eve of the 21st century. The alliance that played such a key role in keeping the peace for the past 48 years will open its doors to former adversaries. Some will be invited to join as full members soon; others will be encouraged to do so later; and representatives of all the emerging democracies in what used to make up the Soviet bloc will intensify their cooperation with NATO on a range of common concerns, from arms control to regional crisis management.

The admission of former Warsaw Pact member states into NATO represents the organization's response to the end of the cold war and the spread of democracy in Europe. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the U.S.S.R., countries that had been captive nations became sovereign, independent states. They have been holding elections, instituting the rule of law, opening their economies and nurturing a free press.

Although old threats have disappeared or receded, new ones have arisen. More Europeans have died violently in the past five years than in the previous 45. The combination of actual and potential dangers requires a robust, capable collective defense pact, and NATO is the best ever.

But the changes facing Europe today are not just military, and NATO also serves a political function. Inclusion in the new NATO will strengthen the values and institutions of democracy in the new member states. The very possibility of membership has already encouraged a number of countries to step up their internal reforms and improve relations with one another. This sort of progress is a potent vaccine against the kind of plague that befell the former Yugoslavia.

The alliance is determined that the enlargement strengthen Europe as a whole, to benefit nonmembers as well. In particular, the Madrid Summit will provide an impetus for bolstering the Partnership for Peace, which for the past three years has fostered joint exercises and closer coordination of defense planning among the allies and 27 neutral and former Warsaw Pact states.

Some have asked, Where are the geographical limits to NATO expansion? The right answer is, Let's see--and let's not be in a rush to proclaim new limits. To draw a new line on the map would be a betrayal of the alliance's shared vision of an undivided, increasingly integrated Europe.