"NATO 2.0: Reboot or Delete?"

U.S. Army War College Monograph

Sarwar — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:23:40 +0000

UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

STRATEGIC STUDIES INSTITUTE

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union’s Common Security and Defense Policy: Intersecting Trajectories

Authored by Mr. Sarwar A. Kashmeri.
Published July 21, 2011

“America should withdraw its credit card underwriting Europe’s defence within 3-4 years”

Sarwar — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:46:48 +0000

America should say to Europe that they will cease to underwrite the security of Europe and its periphery in just three to four years, after which America will only serve as a catastrophic security layer

This was central message I tabled for debate at a private dinner hosted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung in the center of Brussels during the events surrounding European release of “NATO 2.0: Release or Delete?” June 14-18, 2011.

The shock of this proposal would galvanize EU leadership, I said, to tackle reforms to the EU’s defense establishment that presently spends $300 billion (equal to America’s defense budget prior to 9/11) but is rife with duplicate weapons systems and other inefficiencies.

The 20 people around the table included one of the four Directors General of NATO, the former special advisor to Baroness Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign & Security Policy, and a series of European defence experts, politicians, commentators and academics specialising in security matters.

The lively views expressed included:

The shock will come from the US within three years but the shock will come before that from young Germans.

Is Germany going to put up with France and the UK driving foreign defence policy?

Germanyunderstands that there needs to be a common European army and is prepared to contribute, but GB and France stand in the way of EU strategic thinking.

Time To Put European Boots On The Ground In Libya

Sarwar — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:19:50 +0000

The besieged Libyan city of Misrata has become a killing field. Civilians by the hundreds are being killed in this densely populated city of 550,000 by Qaddafi forces. NATO’s aircraft are ineffective in this urban environment.

There is only one solution to Misrata’s plight: the immediate deployment of a military force to break the siege. Fortunately such a force is now ready to be inserted in Libya, it is the European Union’s recently approved EUFOR Libya, a battalion size (1100) force of European troops ready to deploy in Libya as soon as the United Nation requests it.

After sustained NATO bombing on the outskirts of Misrata hundreds of rebels broke through one of the front lines late on Sunday 8 May 2011, and by Monday afternoon were consolidating their position on the ground a few miles to the city’s west.

The breakout of what had been nearly static lines came after NATO aircraft spent days striking positions and military equipment held by the Qaddafi forces, weakening them to the point that a ground attack was possible, the rebels said.

A force on the ground in Misrata would consolidate these fragile rebel gains, secure the port, open up a lifeline for supplies to come in and civilians to depart and so ensure that this Eastern-most advance of the Qaddafi forces is not repeated again. An organized military presence would also add intelligence on the ground to make NATO warplanes more effective going forward.

It is time the U.S.urged the UN to make this 911 call to put European boots on the ground in Libya.

__________________

EUFOR Libya

Rear Admiral Claudio GAUDIOSI (Italy) already appointed EU Operation Commander of EUFOR Libya. The Operational Headquarters (OHQ) of EUFOR Libya is located inRome,Italy. Initial funding to deploy the force also approved.

The decision provides that the EU will, if requested by the UN, conduct a military operation in the framework of the EU’s Common security and defence policy (CSDP) in order to support humanitarian assistance in the region. It is important to note this is the 28^th CSDP mission. Other missions include NAVFOR Somalia, the EU’s anti-piracy flotilla that is twice the size of NATO’s, and EUFOR Chad/CAR under which the EU deployed 3,700 troops to the center ofAfrica to assist the UN.
U.S. Vice President Biden correctly said the EU has the means, all it lacks is the political will to handle Libya. Here’s a chance for the U.S.to inject the will into the EU. Get EUFOR Libya into action.

CSDP – the Atlantic Alliance’s saviour?

Sarwar — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:56:09 +0000

EUROPEAN GEOSTRATEGY

op ed 15:39, 27 April 2011

By Sarwar Kashmeri

Even before the onset of hostilities in Libya it was obvious to insiders on both sides of the Atlantic that NATO was increasingly dysfunctional. Libya has now shown the wider public that the emperor has no clothes.

Cohesion used to be NATO’s trademark, but there is little of that left. And the reputation of the ‘greatest military alliance’ is a diminishing commodity for younger American military officers as I recently found out during a visit to a United Sates Navy aircraft carrier. During dinner I was seated between the ship’s two senior officers. The older Executive Officer felt NATO was the cornerstone of Western defence, while the younger commander of the ship’s attack squadrons told me it still had to be proven to him that NATO was still useful.

Will The Real NATO Please Stand Up!

Sarwar — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:14:13 +0000

Two Libya/NATO related headlines caught my eye today:

Libyan air strikes prompt Nato rift with Britain and France (The Guardian)
“Nato must “maintain and intensify” its efforts, foreign secretary William Hague said, while his French counterpart, Alain Juppé, said not enough was being done to combat Gaddafi’s troops. “Nato must play its role fully. It wanted to take the lead in …“

And

US backs NATO, despite French, British complaints (AFP)

“WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday expressed full confidence in NATO’s capacity to carry out the Libya mission, after France and Britain complained they were not getting enough support….”

Did anybody say NATO was increasingly dysfunctional? The U.S. vs France + Britain. Ouch.

Anne Applebaum summed it all up in her pointedly acerbic Washington Post colmnn:

Will the Libya intervention bring the end of NATO?

…Technically, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization operates only in the wake of an attack on a NATO member. The war in Afghanistan followed such an attack and was, in the beginning, widely perceived as a war against a common enemy. Libya is different: There was no attack, there is no common enemy, and now there is no consensus…

MY TAKE: Not only is there little consensus within NATO on what it is doing in Libya, the economic recession has bottled up the alliance’s effectiveness. It is not well known that each NATO member pays for its military operation in NATO missions. The Alliance itself has no funds or military assets to fight wars. In Libya, the UK and France (and whatever other countries have agreed to contribute to the war plan, and only a handful of NATO members have) pay for their military contribution out of their national treasury. As they have been doing in Afghanistan for a decade now. Not long ago the Prime Minister of Poland showed up at NATO headquarters to bemoan the country’s expenses in Afghanistan that total $1bn per year, fully one-tenth of Poland’s entire defense budget.

The United States spent upwards of $600 million in the first week of the Libyan war, now it expects to spend around $40 million over three weeks, at most. So who picks up the slack? Mainly France and Britain. No wonder the two would like other NATO members to step up to the plate.

Here’s an idea. NATO is busy building itself a new billion plus dollar headquarters outside Brussels. Maybe it could shelve the plan, donate the money to all those countries that can’t afford to join in NATO’s war in Libya and help poor France and Britain from going broke fighting…and save the poor American taxpayers from ultimately footing another war bill.

scale model of NATO HQ

###

“…provides extraordinary insights into NATO…”

Sarwar — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 04:00:10 +0000

“… brilliant analysis …” James F. Hoge, Jr., Counselor, Council on Foreign Relations, New York; “…NATO has long since lost its bearings… [to get] things back on track, Sarwar Kashmeri provides a detailed and eminently sensible road map.” Prof.Andy Bacevich, Boston University; “…a meticulously researched, wise, and lucid book…” Prof. Rajan Menon, City College NY/City Univ. NY;”…provides extraordinary insights into NATO and the future of the transatlantic alliance…” Noel Lateef, Pres & CEO, Foreign Policy Association

Based on original research and conversations with over 40 North American & European leaders, including:

Bantz J. Craddock, General (Ret) former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), Brent Scowcroft, General, former National Security Advisor, CEO, The Scowcroft Group, Christopher J.R. Davis, Lt. General, CMM, CD Canadian Military Representative to NATO,Ersin Onunduran, Professor of International Relations, Ankara University, Turkey, Hakan Syren, General, Chairman, European Union Military Committee (Brussels), Karl-Heinz Lather, General, DEU Army, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe, NATO (Mons, Belgium), Stephane Abrial, General, Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, NATO…(Full list here)

NATO 2.0: Reboot or Delete ——> Advance Praise…

Sarwar — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:56:19 +0000

A once-great alliance, NATO has long since lost its bearings. For anyone concerned with getting things back on track, Sarwar Kashmeri provides a detailed and eminently sensible road map

– Andrew J. Bacevich, professor of history and international relations, Boston University, and author of Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War (2010)

This brilliant analysis leaves no doubt that diminished resources, sheer neglect, and strategic differences among NATO’s partners have weakened this long-standing pillar of Western defense. Sarwar Kashmeri urges the United States and the European Union to align their thinking and combine their resources to ensure that the ‘world’s most successful military alliance’ will live on

—James F. Hoge, Jr., counselor, Council on Foreign Relations

This book provides extraordinary insights into NATO and the future of the transatlantic alliance. Every person concerned with the future of this vital alliance has much to learn from Sarwar Kashmeri’s highly readable and compelling analysis

—Noel V. Lateef, president and CEO, Foreign Policy Association

Sarwar Kashmeri’s views on the Atlantic alliance are widely respected, and NATO 2.0 demonstrates why. It is a meticulously researched, wise, and lucid book that is enriched by Kashmeri’s wide-ranging interviews with American and European leaders (past and present) and foreign policy experts. Kashmeri does not pull punches in discussing the serious problems NATO faces in developing a compelling raison d’être in the 21st century, but he also points the way forward by offering creative proposals for cooperation between the alliance and the European Union through the latter’s European Security and Defense Policy. Those who believe that NATO still has a purpose would do well to read his impressive book

—Rajan Menon, Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair in Political Science, City College of New York/City University of New York and author of The End of Alliances (2007)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NATO’s New StratCon had no impact on markets. Brown Brothers Harriman’s Chandler explains why

Sarwar — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:14:24 +0000

The long-awaited NATO Strategic Concept, revealed last month at the Lisbon Summit, had very little impact on global financial markets. In the latest installment of the New Atlanticist Podcast Series Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarwar Kashmeri interviews Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman to discuss this issue, China’s financial leverage on the US, and the Euro’s future.

Skeptical about the missile shield, but need to pay attention to American phobias!

Sarwar — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:56:27 +0000

In the latest installment of the New Atlanticist Podcast Series ,Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarwar Kashmeri interviews Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s Ambassador to NATO. For this podcast, Kashmeri asked Ambassador Rogozin for his interpretation of the Lisbon Summit’s outcomes regarding missile defense and what it means for the future of NATO-Russia relations. Frank and forthright, Rogozin sheds fresh light on Russian strategic thinking re a partnership with NATO.

Listen to MP3>

[Audio=http://mainstreetvoices.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/22-rogozin-2-112510-wcopy-02.mp3]

The G-20 Challenge and its Implications on NATO

Sarwar — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:55:16 +0000

George Magnus, UBS

In the latest installment of the New Atlanticist Podcast Series Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarwar Kashmeri interviews George Magnus, Chief Economist of UBS Investment Bank.

Listen to MP3>