Strelnikov
4th Level Red Feather
- Joined
- May 7, 2001
- Messages
- 1,812
- Points
- 0
They're adding a bunch of new members in eastern Europe, not that it makes much difference.
For most of its history, NATO has been a shared forum of democracies as well as a defensive alliance. The price of membership has been reforms such as democratic government, rule of law, civilian control over the military, and peaceful settlement of border issues.
NATO has lately become more a club of democracies than a military alliance. When the Evil Empire collapsed, most of the European members slashed military spending and devoted the money saved to the Welfare State. They can no longer play with the first team. The new members in central and eastern Europe are even less capable.
Here are the consequences of that change, in terms of future U.S. and allied military strategy:
First, U.S. forces will bear the brunt of major combat operations and will do so outside the NATO military command structure, free of political interference from allied capitals and free from the diluting effect of militarily less-capable allies.
Second, the U.S. armed forces will often have valuable assistance from the UK and Australia. The national interests of those countries converge with ours, and like the U.S., both are maritime powers with modern, full-service armed forces and traditions of muscular foreign policy.
Third, if the U.S. conducts major combat operations in a multilateral or NATO setting, it will do so primarily to avoid the "unilateralist" epithet and only with the most capable of its other allies.
Finally, European forces will fill in where possible in "boutique" capabilities, post-conflict operations or peacekeeping operations. This will permit our European allies to continue to avoid politically unpopular increases in defense spending.
So imagine that you've called 1 (800) TEL-NATO. This is the message you will hear:
"Hello. You have reached NATO Headquarters. Please select from the following menu:
If you want your democracy stabilized, press 1.
For peacekeeping services, press 2.
For nation building services, press 3.
For chemical-biological warfare detection and countermeasures, press 4.
For explosive ordnance disposal or land mine detection and clearing, press 5.
If you want a real war fought, press 0, and an English-speaking operator will come on the line to assist you."
Strelnikov
For most of its history, NATO has been a shared forum of democracies as well as a defensive alliance. The price of membership has been reforms such as democratic government, rule of law, civilian control over the military, and peaceful settlement of border issues.
NATO has lately become more a club of democracies than a military alliance. When the Evil Empire collapsed, most of the European members slashed military spending and devoted the money saved to the Welfare State. They can no longer play with the first team. The new members in central and eastern Europe are even less capable.
Here are the consequences of that change, in terms of future U.S. and allied military strategy:
First, U.S. forces will bear the brunt of major combat operations and will do so outside the NATO military command structure, free of political interference from allied capitals and free from the diluting effect of militarily less-capable allies.
Second, the U.S. armed forces will often have valuable assistance from the UK and Australia. The national interests of those countries converge with ours, and like the U.S., both are maritime powers with modern, full-service armed forces and traditions of muscular foreign policy.
Third, if the U.S. conducts major combat operations in a multilateral or NATO setting, it will do so primarily to avoid the "unilateralist" epithet and only with the most capable of its other allies.
Finally, European forces will fill in where possible in "boutique" capabilities, post-conflict operations or peacekeeping operations. This will permit our European allies to continue to avoid politically unpopular increases in defense spending.
So imagine that you've called 1 (800) TEL-NATO. This is the message you will hear:
"Hello. You have reached NATO Headquarters. Please select from the following menu:
If you want your democracy stabilized, press 1.
For peacekeeping services, press 2.
For nation building services, press 3.
For chemical-biological warfare detection and countermeasures, press 4.
For explosive ordnance disposal or land mine detection and clearing, press 5.
If you want a real war fought, press 0, and an English-speaking operator will come on the line to assist you."
Strelnikov
