NATO: Big issue, small debate
03 November 2008 à 14h23
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NATO ... four letters for an acronym that has not been used many times during this campaign. And yet. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in which the United States is very influential, is at the heart of world issues.
The transatlantic alliance has a more and more important role. Created on April 4th 1949, the organization was, at the outset, a defense pact. Its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any other country. It was aimed to counter the military power of the USSR. But the end of the Cold War in 1991 removed NATO’s main enemy. The September-11 terrorist attacks ushered in a new era. From then on, NATO, with its 26 members, has attempted to refocus itself to meet the new challenges. The International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), created in 2003, has been the first operation to go beyond the transatlantic context. About 50,000 soldiers are still in the field. Among them, 20,000 are Americans.
There are really few differences between Barack Obama and John McCain about NATO. They both count on a stronger commitment from their partners. Probably because they realize that they cannot have several tasks in hand. For example, they are stuck in Afghanistan. Five years after the beginning of the operation, the Taliban are more active than ever. And a lot of civilians are dead.
The Illinois senator has a plan to rally members to contribute troops to collective security operations. "I've been very clear that we do need more support from them, », declared Barak Obama in a statement last March. He also wants these countries to invest more in reconstruction and stabilization operations. But he will have to take into account the willingness of some of them to take part in the command strucure. France, for example, decided last summer to rejoin NATO’s military command, 42 years after French president Charles de Gaulle decided to leave it.
Moreover, the project to install interceptor missiles and a radar tracking system in Poland and the Czech Republic has contributed to this cooling in relations.
The next president will have to consider all these problems. And there is a warning here. Foreign policy is one of the fields President Bush was most criticized on during his two mandates. It is always a benchmark to judge the actions of a President. And NATO is a central concern because behind this organization, it is relations with Russia which are at stake.
The transatlantic alliance has a more and more important role. Created on April 4th 1949, the organization was, at the outset, a defense pact. Its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any other country. It was aimed to counter the military power of the USSR. But the end of the Cold War in 1991 removed NATO’s main enemy. The September-11 terrorist attacks ushered in a new era. From then on, NATO, with its 26 members, has attempted to refocus itself to meet the new challenges. The International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), created in 2003, has been the first operation to go beyond the transatlantic context. About 50,000 soldiers are still in the field. Among them, 20,000 are Americans.
There are really few differences between Barack Obama and John McCain about NATO. They both count on a stronger commitment from their partners. Probably because they realize that they cannot have several tasks in hand. For example, they are stuck in Afghanistan. Five years after the beginning of the operation, the Taliban are more active than ever. And a lot of civilians are dead.
The Illinois senator has a plan to rally members to contribute troops to collective security operations. "I've been very clear that we do need more support from them, », declared Barak Obama in a statement last March. He also wants these countries to invest more in reconstruction and stabilization operations. But he will have to take into account the willingness of some of them to take part in the command strucure. France, for example, decided last summer to rejoin NATO’s military command, 42 years after French president Charles de Gaulle decided to leave it.
Tense relations with Russia
NATO enlargement is another key issue. At the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, NATO agreed to the accession of Croatia and Albania and invited them to join. Ukraine and Georgia were also told that they will eventually become members. Barack Obama and John McCain back these candidacies. « These two nations have every right to aspire to democracy and security as other states closer to the heart of Europe”, declared John McCain after the summit. “Ukraine and Georgia have difficult neighbours and domestic challenges; they are young democracies and their road ahead will be difficult. » Beyond that, the goal is clear : bring back into the transatlantic circle Russia’s old satellite states. But it is at the expense of relations with Russia.Moreover, the project to install interceptor missiles and a radar tracking system in Poland and the Czech Republic has contributed to this cooling in relations.
The next president will have to consider all these problems. And there is a warning here. Foreign policy is one of the fields President Bush was most criticized on during his two mandates. It is always a benchmark to judge the actions of a President. And NATO is a central concern because behind this organization, it is relations with Russia which are at stake.
