Military

DATE=02-01-02

TYPE=Dateline

NUMBER=7-35883

TITLE= Dateline: NATO After 9-11

BYLINE= Pat Bodnar

TELEPHONE=202-619-0720

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Neal Lavon

CONTENT=

INTRO: On the evening of September 11th, 2001, the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization invoked that treaty's mutual defense guarantee for the first time in the article's five-decade existence. NATO's decision to implement Article Five of the Treaty, pledging that an attack on one ally would be treated as an attack on all, has been viewed by some observers the beginning of the Alliance's transformation. Originally set up to fend off Soviet expansionism during the Cold War, NATO continues to define its role in the 21st century. NATO after 9-11 is the subject of today's Dateline. Here's Pat Bodnar.

PB: Before September 11th, questions had been raised by military and political analysts about the relevance of NATO as a security force. The Cold War was over. The mission to place an armed force in the Balkans appeared largely completed. The European Union was coming together. Analysts wondered whether the alliance could endure. Following the September 11th attacks, NATO declared the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington, an attack on all the alliance's members.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair led the charge.

TAPE: BLAIR ACT ONE :19

"This was not an attack on America alone. This was an attack on the free and democratic world everywhere. And this is a responsibility that the free and democratic world has got to shoulder together with America. It is important that Americans know that their allies and friends around the world stand shoulder to shoulder with them."

PB: (OPT) In France, the newspaper Le Monde, not known for reflexive pro-American sentiment, was the first in Europe to declare after the September 11th attacks, 'We are all Americans.' (END OPT) French President Jacques Chirac, the first foreign leader to visit Washington and New York after the strikes, expressed his nation's support for the United States.

TAPE: CHIRAC ACT TWO :22

"I am very, very moved today, as I have been over the last week, like all the French people, who have been very shocked and traumatized by what happened here."

PB: But what security role would the Atlantic Alliance play in the resulting war against terrorism? Anthony Forster is the Director of Research in the Defense Studies Department at King's College London. He says that by sending its own troops and planes to Afghanistan with help from individual NATO allies, the United States relegated the Alliance to an auxiliary role.

TAPE:, FORSTER ACT THREE :21

"On the one hand, political solidarity has been shown by the Alliance. But on the other hand there is a fear, I think, particularly in Western Europe, that the United States is more interested in unilateral actions, or taking actions with selected partners, rather than using the alliance structure in which all nineteen partner states would be engaged or involved."

PB: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell quickly dismissed the criticism that most NATO members were sidelined in the American-led war on terrorism. Nevertheless, he said the war would be coordinated from U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida, and led by U.S. General Tommy Franks. But Mr. Powell added that Washington would also work with individual NATOP members, or through the United Nations, to aid Afghanistan as it begins the rebuilding process.

TAPE: POWELL ACT FOUR :31

"NATO was right there at the very beginning with the offer of its capabilities. And then we had the option, the pleasant option of choosing from that menu that was provided from all that capability that was made available to us by NATO. That shows the relevance of NATO and as we get further into this international peacekeeping force, I'm quite sure we will be going back to our NATO allies, most likely on a bilateral basis, or within the UN framework, to ask them to bring those capabilities, to bring those units forward."

PB: U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says NATO does have a role in the war against terrorism. Part of that role is maintaining its traditional defensive capability so America would not face a military attack at home.

TAPE: RUMSFELD ACT, FIVE :24

"The reason we are not attacked by armies, navies and air forces is because we have effective armies, navies and air forces. It's perfectly logical that we're going to be attacked, therefore, by people who will look for vulnerabilities. They'll look for vulnerabilities, for example, in our dependency in various types of communications."

PB: Mr. Rumsfeld has suggested that NATO cut its peacekeeping force in Bosnia by up to one-third before the end of the year. That, he says, would help Washington and its allies prepare for future terrorist threats. But some allies in Europe oppose expansion of the military conflict beyond Afghanistan. Germany and France prefer a diplomatic approach to terrorism and they are particularly opposed to a military campaign against Iraq. Washington views terrorism as a serious anti-U.S. threat that must be dealt with swiftly and comprehensively.

To accommodate these differing views, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson has made a point of stressing the evolving role of NATO, even as the security priorities of some of its leading members are shifting away from Europe.

TAPE: ROBERTSON ACT, SIX :24

"This is a changed world, with a premium on political and military agility. We agreed to increase the proportion of forces that can be deployed and sustained in operations far beyond Alliance territory. We agreed that our concepts, our policies, our structures, and, most importantly, our defense capabilities must be adapted to the new security environment."

PB: But NATO officials say it will take time for the allies to reconfigure their militaries to counter the global terrorist threat. The allies will also have to pay for it, even as European defense budgets are low, and polls indicate that European publics have no desire to spend money on defense. Another, equally complicating factor, is NATO's security mission, given the Alliance's warming relationship with Russia. Russia has cooperated with NATO on the war against terrorism, and analysts believe Moscow could play some future role in Alliance affairs. Anthony Forster Director of Research in the Defense Studies Program at King's College, London, says that Russia's relationship with NATO will be pivotal to the alliance in coming years.

TAPE: FORSTER ACT SEVEN :46

"I think that the role that Russia plays in European security is going to be one of the major issues of the next decade. And that is going to affect not only Russian-American relations, but is going to directly affect, I think, the long-term future of NATO as well. There are some allies that I think are deeply ambivalent about allowing Russia to become a member of NATO--fearing that in essence it will hollow out the alliance, it will make it increasingly irrelevant as a security organization--and in essence will force the United States and other selected partners to work either behind the scenes, or work bilaterally, rather than working through NATO procedures and channels."

PB: A second hurdle between Russia and the Alliance, is the second round of enlargement to the East. An agreement on enlargement is expected at a NATO summit November in Prague. European security expert Jerome Sheridan, of American University's Brussels Center, says that since September 11th, Moscow has been more responsive to NATO expansion as well as to Washington's announcement that it is pulling out of the 1972 Anti-ballistic missile treaty.

TAPE: SHERIDAN ACT EIGHT :22

"Russia is just as afraid as anybody of its southern border. And that is the region where instability is emerging, where terrorists have their base. And to the extent that NATO's interests and Russia's interests have converged on this fight against terrorism, then Russia is going to look at issues like the abrogation of the A-B-M treaty and NATO enlargement more benignly than it otherwise would."

PB: While some allies, particularly those in Central Europe, believe that NATO's newfound security relationship with Russia is bad for the alliance, Secretary-General George Robertson says the burgeoning partnership can be mutually beneficial.

TAPE: ROBERTSON ACT NINE :23

"Everyone will benefit from this initiative. We and Russia are not abandoning our own principles and our own prerogatives. No non-member can veto the alliance's decisions. Nor can NATO veto Russia's right to take independent decisions. This is about working together more effectively when it is in all our interests to do so."

PB: (Begin OPT) NATO's expected expansion will strengthen the Atlantic Alliance politically, according to Anthony Forster, Research Director at the Defense Studies Department of King's College in London. He argues that the Alliance will become more effective because it will incorporate more member states within it. However, he adds, expansion may also weaken NATO's ability to react quickly to security threats.

TAPE: FORSTER ACT TEN :30

(OPT)"It's difficult enough with 19 members, but (END OPT) if NATO is extended to include 25 or 30 members, and conceivably even to include Russia, then decision making is going to be even more difficult. Particularly decision making that requires very rapid responses, and decision making where perhaps one or two of the alliance partners are directly involved in military action but the other alliance partners are providing support for military action that is taking place."

PB: Alliance officials say NATO still provides a structure to plan for a variety of operations that could be useful in future conflicts. It continues to function as a European security organization, consolidating order across the continent. American membership also provides a guarantee of help if European security is in danger.

But as NATO expands, and security priorities pull the U.S. and key members of the Alliance away from Europe, the organization must continue to evolve and adapt to future crises and challenges, just as it has to ones in the past. Leaving you with the NATO Hymn, for Dateline, I'm Pat Bodnar.

MUSIC: NATO HYMN SNEAK.