To Be or Not To Be: The Future of NATO.

摘要

In the last several years, the world has witnessed the end of the Cold War and the end of a bipolar world as the Soviet Union buckled under the strains of an overburdened and overstretched economic system shackled by an unrealistically high defense budget. The world also has seen the Soviets retrench back to the USSR to handle expanding internal problems and revolts, the re-emergence of East European nationalism and factionalism, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the reunification of West and East Germany. The West has cheered as a united Germany joined the ranks of NATO. There have been unilateral Warsaw Pact troop cuts, and the CFE agreement will significantly reduce force levels in Europe. The U.S. President has led the way in the push for a New World Order, and the United States utilized diplomacy to garner United Nations' backing for a coalition force against Iraq following its ruthless invasion of Kuwait. In the wake of these massive world changes, the United States is faced with the present growing political clout of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), the future prospects of EC-92, and the possibility of a not-too-distant 'Fortress Europe.' As the United States departs the post-Cold War, post-containment years of bipolarity and establishes new paradigms and new visions, it must determine the future role of NATO in the New World Order. Should NATO continue in its present form as an organization, should its structure be transformed, or should it be disbanded. If NATO is disbanded, should its security functions be transferred to another organization such as CSCE, the Western European Union (WEU), or the European Community. The author reviews U.S. Secretary of State James Baker's vision for a new NATO from 12 Dec 1989, and the London Declaration, discussed by President Bush on 6 July 1990, and provides his comments regarding NATO's future in terms of U.S. national security strategy.