What future for NATO?

What future for NATO?

Working paper
Stanley Sloan and Peter van Ham
04 October 2002

With war looming against Iraq, seven new members set to join the Alliance and a growing transatlantic gap in military power, NATO's role as the world's most effective military alliance is at stake. The Prague Summit on 21-22 November must provide a clear answer. But American and European views on NATO's future are diverging sharply. Americans stress that NATO can only survive if it accepts the 'new missions' of tackling international terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Europe must improve its military capabilities and prepare to operate 'out of area' – or America will simply not take it seriously.

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