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12 May 2003
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Afghan Role for NATO
While all eyes in the NATO alliance were on the Paris-Washington kerfuffle, a move of "almost earth-shattering imporatnce," according to NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson, took place. The 19 members of NATO agreed to take over Afghan peace-keeping operations. The move, so far outside of traditional NATO borders, will forever change what the alliance is and does.
As Lord Robertson said, "This is NATO taking on a multinational operation a continent and a half away from where it previously was restricted by its members." A precedent has been set, and NATO is now an alliance of rich Western countries that will use military means wherever their interests take them. Prior to this, NATO was, at best, an alliance devoted to European defense and European order. Those days are over.
As with most innovation, it is neither good nor evil. A militant NATO can cause more trouble than anything else, while a benign one can bring order out of chaos where it is badly needed. If the alliance is to continue, and there is a case to be made against it doing so, this move is necessary. Expanding it to include Russia is the next needed step -- and if the war on Fascislam is to be prosecuted, Chechnya comes up on the radar screen when Moscow joins in.
The difficulty here is whether the present NATO membership is prepared to help Moscow fight the Chechens. If so, NATO may turn into that aggressive beast all consider a problem. If not, the price will be Russia forever sniping at NATO from outside -- with a UN veto to back it up. In either case, the world is not yet a safer place.