NATO seeks to tackle identity crisis

08:30, November 19, 2010      
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Leaders from 28 NATO countries are set to approve a new strategic concept at their Lisbon summit this week in a bid to tackle the alliance's existential crisis in the wake of the end of the Cold War.
Since the former Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved in the early 1990s, NATO, established during the Cold War, lost its original purpose and was caught up in an identity crisis, following debates over whether the regional military organization should continue to exist or not.
Amidst doubts, NATO started its journey of redefining and reorienting itself to keep pace with the fast-changing global environment.
In 1991 and 1999, NATO successively unveiled two "Strategic Concepts," which serve as general guidelines for the bloc's development.
Under the concepts, NATO believes that the risk of all-out war in Europe has disappeared but members are endangered by threats of ethnic conflicts, abuse of human rights, political instability, economic fragility and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The concepts assert that NATO will remain as the cornerstone of trans-Atlantic security and should stick to its policy of collective defense to guarantee members' security.
NATO began to adjust its strategy and focus on conflicts prevention and crisis management by launching military operations beyond its borders to show its strength.
In 1995, NATO carried out its largest military operation to date, having forced Serbia and the former Yugoslavia to sign the Dayton Agreement. In 1999, NATO launched a bomb attack in the former Yugoslavia without the authorization of the U.N. in its first assault on a sovereign state since it was established.
After the 9-11 attacks in 2001, NATO made fighting terrorism a priority and took part in the war in Afghanistan.
Furthermore, NATO decided to cooperate with "former rivals."
Under the bloc's open-door policy, dozens of countries joined NATO, including states in Eastern Europe, the Baltic Sea region and the Balkans.
As a result, NATO's membership swelled from 16 at the end of the Cold War to its current 28.
The eastward expansion of NATO has triggered strong protests from Russia, which showed its opposition to the bloc's growth through the war with Georgia in 2008.
NATO's military operations and eastward expansion raised concerns over the alliance flexing its muscles to act as a "global cop."
However, as common threats disappeared after the Cold War, rifts among NATO countries began to rise. In 2003, NATO member states, led by Germany and France, publicly condemned the U.S. military strike against Iraq, triggering a deep internal split among NATO members.
In addition, NATO members are deeply divided on what the alliance should be in the future. The Central European and Baltic members want the bloc to reaffirm the Article V to counter possible threats from Russia.
German and France no longer regard Russia as a military threat and want cooperation with Russia on European security. They also insist on putting stricter limits on NATO's mission beyond its borders.
The U.S. and Britain regard the security situation in Europe largely in benign terms and think NATO should operate outside Europe in the future while improving its capabilities for tackling new emerging threats.
In the new concept, the alliances need badly to find ways to serve member's interests. NATO officials say the the concept will reaffirm the alliance's policy of collective defense and Article V will address non-traditional threats from missiles, cyber attacks and nuclear proliferation.
It is believed that threats against NATO members cannot be properly tackled by NATO only now. In the coming years, the alliance needs to develop ties with the EU, Russia, other regional powers, the U.N. and other international organizations.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the definition of territorial defense in today's world has changed and NATO has to go beyond its borders to fulfill its core mission.
"NATO has no ambition to become the world's policeman but if we are to make territorial defense effective, we need a global perspective in our policies," he said.
Analysts believe that as the international security environment changes dramatically, NATO's role as a regional military alliance will eventually peter out.
"Compared to its first decade, NATO between 2010 and 2020 is likely to appear less often on the central stage of global affairs," according to a May report from the so-called Group of Experts.
"Instead, it will be cast in a variety of roles, sometimes as a leader, at other times in a supporting capacity sharing the spotlight with partners and friends," the report said.
Source: Xinhua
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