Monday, January 26, 2009

"NATO increasingly confronts an existential crisis, reflected by three mutually reinforcing trends – inconsistent and fast-paced enlargement policy, problematic internal cohesion and inadequate military spending. Researcher Alexander Melikishvili offers cases that point to the challenges NATO faces: The separate quests by Albania and Georgia for NATO admission reveal inconsistent admission standards on democratic governance and rule of law; ...

NATO’s Double Standards Make for a Hollow Alliance

The military alliance is only as strong and effective as its weakest links

Alexander Melikishvili
YaleGlobal, 26 January 2009
"Russians are coming: Russian invasion of Georgia may threaten Europe, but does not increase its eligibility for NATO membership"

WASHINGTON: As events of the past year demonstrate, NATO faces an existential crisis, reflected in the three aspects underpinning its operations – an inconsistent enlargement policy, diminished internal cohesion and inadequate military planning. Unless NATO can overcome these weaknesses, excitement in Europe about a new era of cooperation with an Obama-led United States may turn out to be premature and groundless.

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