It was U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ farewell tour and his blunt-speaking stop in Brussels garnered a collective “meh” from America’s erstwhile allies. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has seen more action against enemies outside of Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall than it did during the entire Cold War. The irony being that it is probably less battle ready now against the enemies it presently faces (Taliban, Libya and Hezbollah) than it was when it trained against an enemy it never faced in battle (Russia and the Warsaw Pact). It also faces financial pressure with only five of the 28 member nations pulling their mandated weight. Some of the members are underperforming (Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands) while others (Germany and Poland) aren’t performing at all. In the meanwhile NATO member nations are experiencing ammunition shortages and are overly dependent on American capabilities.
The question that begs is whether NATO still has a purpose. When the U.S. drawdown is completed in Afghanistan, will NATO continue to hold together in the face of deficit reduction efforts in the U.S.? Without a unifying mission, will the military alliance give way to the tea and crumpets outing that is the mythical and oft proposed EU Defense Initiative?
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