Powell visit to clear air on ties with NATO

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, FEB. 17. Much European strategic interest is focused on the U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell's tour of West Asian capitals and his scheduled visit to NATO headquarters here at the end of the month.

The advent of the Bush administration in the U.S. is highlighted by revelations about its foreign and strategic policy priorities like the proposed launch of the defence shield against a possible missile attack. There is trans-Atlantic concern about a widening division between Arabs and Israelis in the background of Mr. Ariel Sharon's recent victory. The U.S. quest for a military `pull out' from the Balkans has raised many eyebrows and question marks in major European NATO capitals.

The U.S. sees the E.U. adopting a more independent stance from NATO, with proposed deployment of an independent European military force of some 60,000 personnel. Germany is seen further consolidating its relations with Russia. Hence, today it is argued that an evolving independent Europe, with Russia as a factor, has raised U.S.-NATO anxiety with a sea change in trans- Atlantic relationship.

NATO has preserved Europe's stability and advanced American interests in Europe for over 50 years, and not for the first time there are differing perceptions about its role and strategic importance on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Powell's visit here could reassure U.S.'s European allies that American presence in Europe may not be abandoned but could be re-evaluated or modified. Then there are fresh but faint echoes of an impending war in the Balkans on the border of southern Serbia, where violence has escalated between ethnic Albanians and Serbian military.

The other day, the first Serb soldier was killed and hundreds of villagers fled with mounting concern about another ethnic conflict in the offing between Muslim Albanians and Orthodox Christian Serbs. The Serbian government in the has displayed moderation in dealing with ethnic Albanians, but danger signals of a major military conflict in the offing are there.

More than a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union and end of cold war in 1989, the U.S. and West Europeans remain concerned about the relationship between Europe and the U.S. with growing chinks in the troubled partnership.

At the same time, nobody is suggesting the collapse of the NATO alliance or Atlantic partnership and much has been done in practical terms to ensure that transatlantic partnership is neither undermined nor underestimated. For example, NATO and the E.U. officials are going to meet here at ambassadorial level six times a year and at ministerial level at least once a year.

The U.S. will want to know exactly what the proposed independent European military force wants to do which cannot be done by NATO forces. The U.S. wants its European partners to step up defence spending as currently Germany, a major European power, spends only 1.4 per cent of its GDP on defence compared to the U.S. which spends 3.5 per cent.

NATO was conceived and structured in the aftermath of the Second World War, essentially to contain the Soviet expansionist challenge in Europe. Minus the Gulf War, NATO alliance as such has never gone to war. It is also argued that it has never had enough divisions in Central Europe to fight the Soviets, if the Soviets really came, but NATO always had awesome nuclear capability. NATO's political and strategic goals have waxed and waned according to the political climate in Europe.

Gen. Powell's meeting with NATO officials may clear much air and pave way for common trans-Atlantic defence and strategic perceptions.

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Section  : International
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