Europe Grows Up

The rise of a new security/military force in Europe is bound to ask some serious questions about the relevance of NATO in the 21st Century. The European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), established in 1996 under control of the European Union, is Europe's force for a variety of stabilization and peacekeeping missions. And while there are issues of overlap right now, I think the ultimate goal is eventually getting rid of NATO and calling on Europe to deal with its own problems and provide for its own defense. ESDP puts us on a path to do that.

ESDP has undertaken stabilization and peacekeeping missions in places like Macedonia and Chad, exactly the kinds of conflicts I would like to see the United States avoid. In addition, the ESDP might actually get European nations to pay for their own defense, something they have not had to do in quite awhile. It's been well known that the major nations in Europe free ride on the US security guarantee, and hopefully the ESDP assumes more responsibility for the security and protection of Europe.

Turning the attention to NATO, its relevance died after the end of the Cold War and the destruction of the Soviet military establishment. After that point, it has engaged in missions that are specifically not within its original parameter, and it has been largely ineffective in fighting the wars it was designed for.

The 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia was the first major test case for the organization after the Cold War. But did the bombing violate NATO's own charter? Article 5 reads,

The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Serbia did not attack any member of the alliance, even though we might detest and disagree with Milosevic's regime and antics (I do). But when a purely defensive organization turns into an offensive organization, that dramatically expands the responsibilities and the number of quarrels in which NATO could get involved.

You could argue that the invocation of Article 5 for the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was justified (I think it was), but the inefficiency of NATO in Afghanistan has been well documented for some time. Some countries refuse to participate in combat operations, and some even refuse to have their troops go out after dark.

Hopefully ESDP eventually phases out NATO and the US can stay out of peacekeeping operations in countries in which we have no security interests, and nation building missions. Doing this increases US security and decreases US taxpayer responsibility for our European allies.