Regarding NATO: An Examination of the Alliance's Role in the Global War on Terrorism - Rogue and Failed States, Kosovo Legacy, Military Readiness, Afghanistan Case Study, American Leadership Role

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. Since the end of the Cold War NATO has struggled to find a new identity. Its seminal raison d'etre of deterrence collapsed with the Berlin Wall in the early 1990's and successive NATO summits have wrestled with the Alliance's agenda for transformation. Its efforts to redefine itself were of mixed results and the Kosovo campaign in 1999 did little to clarify its way forward. It needed to change in order to stay relevant--that much was clear. The fact that this identity crisis was coupled with a vast expansion program to the East only exacerbated NATO's crisis of purpose. The events of September 11, 2001 (9/11), accelerated this on-going process of redefinition and helped NATO to find focus and purpose when many scholars were writing the organization's obituary. The Alliance is reorganizing itself at every level. Today we find NATO deeply involved in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) - its troops patrol the streets and environs of Kabul as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and its ships secure the waterways of the Mediterranean through Operation Active Endeavor. In terms of operational flexibility, it is currently on course to establish a corps-level rapid reaction force by October 2006--the NATO Response Force (NRF)--with a projected capability of deploying anywhere in the world within 30 days, self-sustaining for 90 days, and fully interoperable with their technology heavy U.S. counterparts. Its command and control architecture is being overhauled in order to make it more responsive to crisis decision-making and also interoperable with a U.S Joint Task Force level headquarters. In essence, NATO has quietly and effectively redefined itself, charting a course to become a major factor in international security and stability in the 21st century.

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION * Background * Thesis and Methodology * The Issue of Legitimacy * CHAPTER II - DEFINING THE THREAT * Avoiding the Historical Debate on 'War' and 'Terror' * The U.S. View of the Threat * Terrorist Networks * Rogue and Failed States * The NATO View of the Threat * Terrorist Networks * Rogue and Failed States * Towards A Common Understanding of the Threat * CHAPTER III - MILITARY STRATEGIES FOR THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM * Awake the Sleeping Giants * The U.S. Military Strategy * The Kosovo Legacy * A Doctrine of Preventive War * A Flawed View Of War * The NATO Military Strategy * NATO Restructures For An Unstable World * Military Command Structure * Military Force Capabilities * Military Readiness * NATO Response Force * Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction * Peacekeeping as a Core Capability * Towards A Common Military Approach * CHAPTER IV - AFGHANISTAN CASE STUDY * An Unfinished War * The U.S. Approach * The NATO Approach * Towards A Common Effort in Afghanistan * CHAPTER V - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A PARTNERSHIP WITH NATO IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM - FROM A MILITARY PERSPECTIVE * The Necessity of A Common Approach * The U.S. Leadership Role in NATO * Allies Will Lessen Operational Effectiveness - Get Over It! * Some Issues With U.S. Military Culture * Concluding Remarks * BIBLIOGRAPHY