NATO Meets to Revamp Transatlantic Alliance

NATO officials in Brussels are expected to discuss taking over peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and supporting Poland's efforts in Iraq, but at the top of the agenda for the two-day meeting will be streamlining NATO's unwieldy command structure, which has remained largely unchanged since the Cold War.

"This is a new NATO, a NATO able to meet its commitments
when times get tough," NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said as the ministers started their deliberations.

At a summit in Prague last November, NATO leaders agreed the structure needed to be reformed in response to the collapse of communism and the defense alliance’s expansion to include former enemies in Eastern Europe. But disagreement over the closure of some regional bases could yet scupper any agreement.

Spain and Greece have fought efforts to revamp NATO because they stand to lose alliance facilities and the jobs and prestige that come with them. Both countries oppose proposals to reduce the number of major NATO installations to three joint regional headquarters and six smaller commands. The plan would close a number of NATO facilities, including a Greek one in Larissa and a Spanish airbase in Madrid.

Despite the rancor over the possible closures, most observers expect agreement over the new command structure after some intense political horse trading. NATO officials are also expected to discuss the progress of creating a rapid reaction force that could be available for missions worldwide.

Rapid reaction force

By 2004 at the latest, NATO hopes to have a flexible 20,000-troop force that could be readied for deployment anywhere in the world within 30 days. A smaller amount of highly mobile soldiers are supposed to be ready for action within five days after received marching orders. NATO officials want the new force to be able to respond to a number of challenges, including global terrorism, peacekeeping and more serious military engagements.

"There aren't conventional wars anymore -- instead we have to deal with terrorist threats," said German Defense Minsiter Peter Struck on Thursday.

NATO has been under considerable pressure to reinvent itself after the collapse of the Soviet Union, its traditional foe. The terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, also encouraged the alliance to rethink its role. One of the biggest changes in its 54-year history is its new willingness to take up missions beyond the borders of the 19 member countries.

Bridge building

The alliance is taking the first steps in that direction by agreeing to take over command of the peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan this summer and to help Poland manage a zone of military control in postwar Iraq.

After an ugly internal split over the U.S.-led war in Iraq, NATO also hopes reinventing itself will heighten its relevance in international security matters as the European Union discusses beefing up its own future military capabilities. Important for Washington is that any EU force strengthens NATO and is not promoted at the expense of the transatlantic alliance.