Highlights
-NATO leaders face political embarrassment over delayed acceptance of new NATO chief
-NATO nations pledge a modest military personnel increase ahead of elections in Afghanistan
-Alliance expansion and long-term purpose in Afghanistan remains uncertain
Last weekend, leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) met for a summit to mark the alliance’s 60th anniversary in Strasbourg, France. Despite celebrating France’s return to the bloc and welcoming new NATO members Albania and Croatia, doubts over leadership, expansion and a long-term role in Afghanistan overshadowed the summit’s modest political achievements.
Turkey Complicates Agenda
Turkish officials publicly criticized the option of appointing Denmark’s Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as new NATO chief. According to Turkey, Rasmussen’s handling of the publishing of Prophet Muhammad cartoons in 2005 sends the wrong political message as NATO continues to fight and send resources to Afghanistan. In addition, Turkish authorities continue to demand that Denmark shut down a pro-Kurdish television channel.
Nearing the end of the summit, negotiations convinced Turkey to refrain from vetoing the appointment by securing two concessions. Firstly, Turkey was given at least two NATO jobs, including the post of NATO assistant secretary general and new civilian envoy to Afghanistan. Secondly, two blocked chapters of Turkey’s European Union (EU) accession bid will be opened.
NATO Expansion on Hold
While US President Obama welcomed Albania and Croatia as official members of NATO, the NATO bids of Georgia and the Ukraine are not likely top priorities among the NATO agenda in the near-term. Before the summit, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged NATO to think about the consequences before expanding the bloc. Russia’s recent military assault in Georgia is a military reminder that complicates NATO expansion to the east. Russia claims a “sphere of influence” in ex-Soviet states and will likely discourage further NATO expansion with sporadic gas pipeline shut offs and regional military exercises in the long-term. NATO will be hard-pressed to counter Russia’s belligerence without inflaming relations. Providing Russia this leverage over the future of the alliance bodes ill for NATO members fearful of a potentially resurgent Russian threat.
Commitment to Afghanistan
NATO has roughly 58,000 military personnel in Afghanistan, nearly half of whom are American. NATO members pledged to contribute 5,000 additional troops and other personnel to bolster security in Afghanistan ahead of August 20 elections. The deployment will consist of combat troops, liaison teams to train the Afghan National Army, and paramilitary mentors and trainers to train and assist the Afghan National Police.
New estimates suggest that the actual figure will be somewhat lower than 5,000, as the troop offers from countries like Germany and Italy were based off previous announcements (Source).
US officials welcomed the contribution, but the modest numbers reflect an ongoing debate over the alliance’s original mission of defending against a large, well-armed external aggressor.
NATO Role Against Islamic Extremism
Islamic extremism poses a greater near-term security threat to NATO nations. Al-Qaeda leadership and extremist groups continue to plot terrorist attacks for European soil. Until further military commitments are made, the US, the United Kingdom and Germany will bear the brunt of the ongoing war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The new Afghanistan strategy introduced at last week’s NATO summit is likely to please European officials. The strategy specifically seeks to integrate nonmilitary and combat activities, develop the Afghan economy and reconcile with insurgent groups. This more comprehensive approach may be successful in attracting NATO members to increase their participation in the Afghanistan mission.
While the summit was hailed as a success for securing additional troops and resources for Afghanistan’s August elections, combating Islamic extremism abroad will require greater flexibility on the part of the 28-member bloc.
