NATO: a bleak future

By Jason Moore IT was interesting getting a U.S. perspective and especially a Republican one of world affairs during our interview last weekend with former Congressman Mark Kennedy. There was one point he raised which I found most interesting; NATO. In otherwords he was not impressed by some European states sitting on the sidelines in Afghanistan (a United Nations mandated operation) while other member states are fighting a pitched battle (the Americans, Canadians and the British). The future of NATO, in the light of the experience of Afghanistan, is very much in the balance and it needs to be urgently reformed. It is no good having a military alliance which is split down the middle. If the Taleban are to be beaten in Afghanistan then more NATO troops are going to be needed from all member states. While all NATO countries have troops stationed in the relative safety of Kabul, most nations refuse to send their troops anywhere else. This is not exactly a very satisfactory state of affairs. If NATO is to become an alliance of fighters and non-fighters then perhaps it should be quietly abandoned and a new alliance formed of the countries which are prepared to take action when their troops are needed.