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2019-05-01

NATO at 70: An Indispensable Global Military Partner

Foreign Ministers gathered in Washington D.C. on 4th April 2019 to mark 70 years since the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Politicians continue to adapt NATO’s Alliance as the single most important contributor to security, stability and peace around the world. “Over seven decades, NATO has stepped up time and again to keep our people safe, and we will continue to stand together to prevent conflict and preserve peace,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Ministers have agreed a new package of measures to enhance NATO’s situational awareness and strengthen support for Alliance partners Georgia and Ukraine. Support to addressing security in the Black Sea region could include training for maritime forces and coastguards, port visits or exercises and sharing information.

Ministers also discussed Russia’s ongoing violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with allies reiterating their call on Russia for full and verifiable compliance with the Treaty. The Secretary-General stressed that any response to non-return to compliance would be “measured and coordinated” and although NATO has no intention of deploying ground-launched nuclear missiles in Europe, it will continue to “maintain credible and effective deterrence and defence.”

Regarding NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism and the efforts of the United States to seek a political settlement in Afghanistan, the Secretary-General stressed that: “We went into Afghanistan together, and we agree that we will take any decisions on our future presence together.” Ministers also discussed progress in the fight against ISIS and how NATO is adapting to new terrorist tactics, such as use of small drones, stressing that they will continue to train local forces in the fight against terrorism.

Regarding fairer burden-sharing in the Alliance, the Secretary-General welcomed four consecutive years of rising investment in defence, including new capabilities and greater force deployment. “Since 2016, European Allies and Canada have added US$41 billion to their defence spending; by the end of next year, this will rise to US$100 billion,” said Stoltenberg.

An Alliance in Crisis?

As the largest and strongest alliance of democratic countries in the world, NATO provides the umbrella defending Europe from conventional and nuclear attack, containing Russian aggression and protecting over 100 million East Europeans who now live in democracy and freedom after the fall of communism.

NATO remains vital for more than 900 million Europeans and North Americans and if NATO did not exist today, countries on both sides of the Atlantic would need to create it to confront the authoritarian powers that are on the rise.

However, the list is long of the daunting and complex challenges testing the purpose and unity of NATO allies. In 2019, NATO’s leaders need to act decisively to meet these tests and heal the widening divisions within the Alliance.

Streamlining NATO Decision-Making

The tendency for NATO allies to reach critical decisions by consensus continues today as allies seek agreement on how NATO should act on major issues. However, it is also time for the Alliance to empower the Secretary-General facing the administrative and resource issues that prevent from focusing on more significant challenges.

The Secretary-General must have the operational power to move an often-unwieldy Alliance forward in the way it plans and operates on a daily basis. In this way, decision-making can also be improved in crisis scenarios.

Refocusing NATO Partnerships

NATO maintains a partnership with forty-one countries outside the Alliance, from Mauritania in West Africa to Japan, with many proving invaluable members of coalitions in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and in the fight against the Islamic State.

While it is vital for NATO to strengthen its partnership with European Union, partnerships with the Gulf Coordination Council, the African Union and the Arab League would promote stability along NATO’s periphery.

Open to Future Members

With North Macedonia joining the Alliance in the coming months, NATO would be advised to consolidate its two-decade thirteen-member expansion and keep the door open for any European democracy that meets the strict qualifications for membership.

Georgia and Ukraine should be encouraged to join, even if they not do meet membership conditions for years to come. No country outside the Alliance, even Russia, can have a veto over whom NATO accepts in its goal of ensuring a free and peaceful European continent.

A Safer Digital World

NATO faces another critical challenge in adapting to a rapidly-changing and global military-technology landscape. Overcoming historically cumbersome defence-planning processes is now the key challenge for embracing artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing and biotechnology.

Led by the United States and faced by the challenge of China and Russia, NATO allies must now commit a far greater share of their military budgets to acquiring these new military technologies.

Although NATO played a critical role in winning the Cold War, NATO Allies continue to defend many countries within today’s evolving threat environment. As the most successful military alliance in history, the world would be much less safe without NATO.

Reference Text/Photo:

www.belfercenter.org,
NATO at Seventy: An Alliance in Crisis by Ambassador Douglas Lute, Ambassador Nicholas Burns,

www.nato.int

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