Rethinking the NATO commitment

OTTAWA—On June 19, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was hosted in Ottawa by the NATO Association of Canada at a private dinner. In addition to Stoltenberg using the occasion to browbeat the Canadian government into spending more on national defence, the attendees gathered to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the military alliance. The original Charter of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was signed on April 4, 1949, by the original 12 members, of which Canada was proud to be among. Those were the early days of the Cold War, and the threat of the Soviet Union spreading communism throughout Western Europe was a clear and present danger. The key component of the NATO charter remains Article 5, which outlines a commitment to collective defence. While it was fear of Soviet expansion that prompted NATO members to form the alliance, it was fear of NATO aggression that prompted the Soviet Union to form the Warsaw Pact in May 1955. This communist bloc alliance included Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. With the exception of Albania withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact in 1968, and four more countries joining NATO, those were pretty much the opposing line-ups on either side of the “Iron Curtain” that divided Europe until the collapse of the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1992. Thankfully for all involved, at no time during those tense years was Article 5 of the NATO Charter ever invoked. However, with the threat of the Soviet Union removed, the question now was what to do with this untested massive military alliance known as NATO? For those hawks in high places, the answer was to expand the membership. The thaw of the Cold War changed the map of Europe with East Germany reunifying with West Germany. Former Warsaw Pact members eagerly got in line to join NATO. Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and both of the now-separate republics of Czechia and Slovakia have become NATO members. The breakup of Yugoslavia from 1990 until 1995 created the new states of Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, all of whom are now NATO members. The three former Soviet Baltic states—Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia—have also joined the ranks of the alliance. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, both Sweden and Finland have added their not-inconsiderable military might to the alliance. This brings the total membership to 32 developed nations, fielding the most sophisticated weaponry in the world. So, for Stoltenberg and the NATO groupies making merry at the 75th anniversary celebration last week, just what milestones exactly would they be heralding? Well, in 1999, NATO violated international law by bombing Serbia for 78 days. After an unexpected stubborn resistance by the Serbs, that tiny country finally submitted to the NATO alliance. Although it was not until 2008 that the disputed province of Kosovo declared itself an independent state, the desired result of NATO redrawing the map of Europe through military force remains a political mess. Kosovo still does not have full status at the United Nations, as 89 of 193 member nations still recognize Kosovo as the sovereign territory of Serbia. Within the European Union, there are five member states blocking Kosovo from membership for the same reason. In a recent article on Kosovo, Matthew Karnitschnig of Politico wrote, "Put simply, even after decades of American aid and support, the country remains an economic and political basket case." The article also outlined that Kosovo has one of the lowest per-capita GDPs in Europe, a poverty rate of more than 20 per cent, and is plagued by corruption and political turmoil. So, not much to celebrate there. In September 2001, in the wake of 9/11, all NATO members heeded then-United States president George Bush's invocation of Article 5 of the NATO Charter. While possibly reassuring to the American public, almost every UN member also agreed to be an ally in the “war on terror.” So, no biggie. Then there was the Afghanistan fiasco. NATO troops—including Canadians—fought for more than a decade in that country. The end result was a failure in 2021 when the Taliban took over. Better to forget that one. In 2011, NATO took the lead role in fulfilling UN Security Council Resolution 1973, which called for a no-fly zone over the skies of Libya. The NATO generals promptly empowered themselves to bomb the bejeezus out of then-president Moammar Gadhafi's loyalist forces. After 10 months of aerial bombardment, the various rebel factions succeeded in murdering Gadhafi. However, the fractious rebel forces immediately began fighting each other, and Libya was plunged into a bloody anarchy that continues to this day. So, not really worthy of a victory parade, but nonetheless, Canada staged a full ceremony with flypast on Parliament Hill to celebrate NATO's defeat of Libya. In 2018, NATO agreed to assist the U.S. coalition in Iraq. While the NATO flag may still fly over some heavily guarded Green Zone buildings in Baghdad, the alliance has no more chance of a successful exit from Iraq than we did with Afghanistan.With a 75-year track record of 1-for-5, maybe NATO should have simply disbanded after they won the Cold War. Scott Taylor is the editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine. The Hill Times

Rethinking the NATO commitment

With a 75-year track record of 1-for-5, maybe NATO should have simply disbanded after they won the Cold War.

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Rethinking the NATO commitment

With a 75-year track record of 1-for-5, maybe NATO should have simply disbanded after they won the Cold War.

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