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NATO to Weigh Bosnia Progress on Thursday
By Johnathan Clayton
"Europe has the chance of a real defence role, but only if it has a robust relationship with NATO," one senior NATO diplomat told Reuterss. NATO's main players -- the United States, France, and Britain -- have reached broad political agreement on the shape of the future security "architecture" in Europe.
Alliance foreign ministers meeting in Berlin last week agreed the broad outlines of a reform package designed to make NATO, originally created to withstand a huge attack from the East, flexible enough to carry out crisis management missions.
Crucially, the plan also envisages the creation of a European security identity within the transatlantic alliance, paving the way for an eventual full return by Paris into the military wing it quit in 1966 in a row over U.S. dominance.
Much of the drive to reshape the alliance has come from the disastrous squabbles that accompanied the West's attempts to prevent and then end the Balkan wars. U.S. diplomatic muscle and NATO's military might finally achieved what years of European hand-wringing and ill-equipped United Nations operations failed to do.
"Everyone realises the need to act in unison in anything big," said one NATO official.
Alliance defence ministers will review the lessons of the unprecedented cooperation in the 60,000-strong multinational force in Bosnia, which includes Russia and several other former enemies, policing the Dayton peace accords.
NATO sources say the military aspects of the mission have
been a great success, but in the next six months more emphasis
will be put on the civilian aspects. "From now on we will be looking more at how do we set up more of a robust civilian operation," said one diplomat.
The NATO meeting takes place at the time of a major mid-term review conference on the implementation of the Dayton accords and attempts to hold elections as foreseen on September 14 despite the failure to apprehend indicted war criminals.
NATO sources said the ministers would sidestep the tricky questions of alliance plans to expand eastwards and a follow-up force to the Bosnia Implementation Force (IFOR) when its mandate runs out at the end of the year.
On the eve of the meeting, U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry said he would recommend renewing the deployment of American troops to Bosnia next year if NATO decided instability prevented its peace forces from leaving. Perry stressed that no decision had been made but warned that the Atlantic alliance would not let its expensive efforts to cement peace go to waste in unsettled Bosnia.
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BRUSSELS, June 13 (Reuters) - NATO defence ministers gather in Brussels on Thursday to review the work of the alliance-led peace mission in Bosnia and take steps towards giving Europeans more of a role in the U.S.-dominated Atlantic Alliance. For the first time in 30 years, France will take up its seat in a formal session of the 16 defence ministers which will order the start of detailed work on an overhaul of structures designed to withstand East-West confrontation.
Berserkistan, June 11 · Force of 20,000 May Extend U.S. Mission
Berserkistan, June 5 · Perry Considers Extended NATO Role in Bosnia
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