Events 2009
CSIS Expert Says NATO Goes through Identity Crisis
February 17, 2009
Washington-based CSIS expert on Euro-Atlantic affairs Julianne Smith said in Prague on February 12 that NATO “is experiencing an identity crisis” and needs a new strategic concept that would redefine its purpose.
She noted that NATO members’ concerns and priorities differ, citing their approach to the war in Afghanistan as an example. “Norway is concerned about the far North, Portugal about refugees from Africa and the U.S. about terrorism.”
NATO’s doors remain open but it will be a long time before nations like Ukraine and Georgia join the organization, Smith said. Discussing U.S. missile defense perspectives, she commented that, “while [our allies] and we might have a few ripples in our discussions on this, eventually I imagine the missile-defense system will be pursued, though maybe not in 2009.”
Smith said the U.S. must focus on countering Iran’s nuclear ambitions and is doubtful things will improve dramatically in Iran after elections later this year. Smith believes U.S. President Barack Obama will seek new approaches to Russia but “cannot send a signal that [Russia] has veto power over missile defense or NATO enlargement. “One of the Obama administration’s main priorities is reassuring its allies that U.S. commitments to them are firm and non-negotiatable.
Julianne Smith attended several panel discussions in Prague on the occasion of NATO’s upcoming 60th anniversary. She took a part on Prague “Transatlantic Talks - NATO at Sixty” project, organized by AMO (Association for International Affairs).
NATO at Sixty’s objective is to commemorate the anniversary by creating an impartial and independent environment for an interaction among distinguished personalities with political, military and academic background on the perspectives of the Alliance – six decades after the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Julianne Smith is director of the CSIS Europe Program (Center for Strategic and International Studies) and the Initiative for a Renewed Transatlantic Partnership, where she leads the Center’s research and program activities on U.S.-European political, security, and economic relations and the ongoing process of European political and economic integration.
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