Whither NATO? Difficulties in the Trans-Atlantic Relationship

Revelations about NSA spying and an unequal sharing of military burdens has cast a recent shadow over the trans-Atlantic relationship. But NATO remains just as important as ever. It is time for all alliance members to recognize that fact.

During the course of more than three decades, in our public service and private capacities, we have regularly attended the Munich Security Conference, formerly known as Wehrkunde.

The Conference initially consisted of a small group of military experts from the United States, Canada and Western Europe who discussed issues involving the threat posed by the former Soviet Union. Today, the Conference includes representatives from the business, diplomatic and military communities from all of Europe, Russia and Asia who examine the new threats posed by terrorists, religious extremists, nuclear proliferation, cyber warfare and organized crime.

Although the US delegation to the Conference included 15 members of Congress and a joint appearance by Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel we detected the “brooding omnipresence” of a discontent for the United States that contained a whiff of anti-Americanism.

This dark overhang is due in part to Edward Snowden’s revelations about NSA’s collection activities, but it is coupled with a perception that the United States is withdrawing its interest from vast areas of the globe, including Europe, a feeling partly fueled by the “Pivot Towards Asia” declaration announced in Washington. While nothing could be further from the truth, perceptions can become reality when not effectively rebuffed by evidence to the contrary. There also seems to be a little too much enthusiasm to link this perception with the increasingly popular notion of a general “American decline”, something we have heard about in every decade since 1945. Continuar lendo →