Newsgroup: it.cultura.militare
Titolo: U.S. lobbies NATO to expand

U.S. lobbies NATO to expand
By Nicholas Kralev
January 22, 2008 
BERLIN — NATO is expected to issue membership invitations to as many as
three Balkan countries this spring in yet another round of enlargement
championed by the United States, alliance diplomats said yesterday.
Although no official decision will be made until a few days before a NATO
summit in Romania in April, the diplomats spoke of being "bullish," and
said a "strong current" was developing in favor of Croatia, Albania and
Macedonia.
All three "are already making significant contributions to NATO's ongoing
operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo," a U.S. official said. "These
countries, with NATO's full support, have made significant progress in
defense-sector reforms."
The alliance has yet to formally discuss further expansion, but there
appears to be a consensus that the country most deserving of an invitation
is Croatia. The smaller and poorer Albania and Macedonia still have a lot
of work to do, officials said.
Many analysts question whether NATO is ready for another wave of
enlargement, only four years after seven former communist countries
increased the allies' number to 26.
"There is a great deal of opposition to this idea," said Julianne Smith,
director of the European program at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. "The question will be asked if
these countries are prepared for what NATO is going to ask from them. The
alliance we have today demands a great deal."
The United States already is having a hard time getting many of the
current NATO members to commit adequate human and financial resources for
the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Although all the countries are contributing to the International Security
Assistance Force there, their collective troop numbers total only about
25,000. The United States, by comparison, has about 14,000 troops with the
NATO force and an additional 13,000 troops training Afghan forces and
hunting al Qaeda terrorists
"We have to acknowledge the reality that the alliance as a whole has not
trained for counterinsurgency operations, even though individual countries
have considerable expertise at, and success in, this arena," Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates said last week.
If it is difficult to prepare a 26-member NATO for such missions, it will
be even harder if it takes in more members, some analysts said.
"With Russia strengthening its position in Serbia, and Kosovo independence
threatening the region with instability, the U.S. and its European allies
want to shore up Balkan security," said Ariel Cohen, senior research
fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
"However, NATO needs members that can add to regional security, not
detract from it," he said. "Albania and Macedonia have still a long way to
go to catch up to NATO standards militarily and technologically."
U.S. and European diplomats defended the history of NATO enlargement as a
"historic success in advancing democracy, security and stability in the
Euro-Atlantic area," in the words of a U.S. official. They noted that NATO
is a political, as well as a military, organization.
Both diplomats and analysts predicted a heated debate on the issue in the
next two months. One hurdle to Macedonia's membership is Greece's
objection to the country's name, which is the same as that of one of its
provinces.
The United States, which is eager to see all three candidates receive
invitations in April, has intensified pressure on Greece and Macedonia to
resolve their long-running dispute. NATO works only by consensus.
Noting NATO's recent difficulty defining itself, Miss Smith, of CSIS,
suggested that "until the alliance determines its mission, perhaps we
should hold off on enlarging."
"Fundamentally, we have trouble answering the question, 'What is NATO
for?' The alliance has some homework to do," she said.
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080122/FOREIGN/838136255/1003&template=nextpage
Penso che MR Putin a questo debba soltanto fare quello che Mao 
consigliava, sedersi in riva al fiume e aspettare che la NATO passi.
Visto che ormai la sua esistenza sembra dipendere dal colore dei governi 
che si succedono in paesi instabili.