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NATO Theme At Prague: Adapting To Meet 21st Century Threats
Tuesday, October 1, 2002
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

"Unless the disparity between U.S. and European capabilities is substantially narrowed, the military burden of meeting the new threats we face will continue to fall primarily on the United States, with NATO itself taking on an increasingly secondary role. This is not a healthy situation for the alliance."

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
At the end of the Cold War NATO officials recognized terrorism and weapons of mass destruction as among the top new threats to European -- and world -- peace, a senior U.S. State Department official noted Sept. 30 in Chicago.

"NATO defined these new threats explicitly" in 1999 when the alliance was developing new strategy for the post-Cold War-era, Undersecretary for Political Affairs Marc Grossman told members of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.

Now, he pointed out, NATO is adapting to better prepare for those 21st century threats.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States, Grossman explained, the alliance's need to prepare for threats such as oppression, ethnic conflict, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the global spread of weapons technology and terrorism has become ever more urgent.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

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