Külügyi Szemle - A Teleki László Intézet Külpolitikai Tanulmányok Központja folyóirata - 2002 (1. évfolyam)
2002 / 4. szám - RÉSUMÉ - Orbán Anita: Transatlantic relations - the End of NATO?
Resumé Anita Orbán: Transatlantic Relations - the End of NATO? Although the current war on terror is the first war in the history of NATO in which Article 5 was invoked, the alliance is absent from the military action. The United States has ignored the military assistance offered by NATO members and tended to dismiss the whole organization during the war. Moreover, the latest American National Security Strategy does not envision any significant role for today's NATO. Does the alliance as a military organization have a future? There are many factors that point towards the decay of NATO. First, after 9/11 America shifted its focus from Europe to Asia, because it believes that its future wars will be fought on the Asian continent. Second, throughout its whole history, the North- Atlantic Alliance prepared against an attack from the Soviet Union and later Russia. However, after the terrorist attack America's relationship with Russia changed fundamentally and the former archenemy of NATO became the number one ally in the war on terror. Third, the capability gap between the two sides of the Atlantic is even bigger today than it was during the Kosovo crisis. This gap threatens interoperability within NATO. Fourth, NATO is ill-equipped to be prepared for either intelligence or counter-proliferation. As a result, it is unlikely to become a cornerstone in fighting the threats of the twenty-first century. Fifth, the aftermath of 9/11 demonstrated that NATO members are no longer like-minded states in the area that matters most for a military alliance, namely in foreign and security policy. As a result, like-mindedness ceases to be a force for cohesion with the organization. There is ample reason to believe that the US is no longer committed to unconditional collective defense. For the alliance to continue to exist, it should be reformed in a way that makes it valuable for not only Europe but also America, and at the same time is acceptable for not only the US but also Europe. This is a huge challenge that none of the current recommendations for change seem to tackle properly. 214 Külügyi Szemle
