|
RRI newsletter subcription
(e-mail address):
|
 |
Archives:
|
|
| NATO ANNIVERSARIES |
| (2009-03-31) |
| Last updated: 2009-04-01 21:19 EET |
NATO is a political and military alliance established under the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington on April 4th 1949. The most important provision of the Treaty is Article 5, under which an armed attack against any or several member states of the organization, in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all and consequently, the member countries agree to give support to any action they deem necessary, including the use of armed force. In the beginning, that provision referred to the possibility for the USSR to mount an attack against the US European allies.
The feared Soviet invasion in Europe did not occur, in exchange, once the cold war was over, an unexpected string of new threats emerged, which could not be envisaged by the NATO strategic doctrine. The new security concepts had to include energy security, challenged by the Russian-Ukrainian gas war, or the threats of terrorist attacks, like the one on the US on September 11th 2001.
Actually, the USA continues to be the main military force of NATO, which today has 26 members. Now, when the Alliance celebrates its 60th anniversary, its role is still a subject of debate. NATO secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, whose term in office is coming to an end, would like to leave as a legacy a reform of the administrative structures, which currently make decision-making difficult.
The reform will certainly be implemented with big countries being involved, like France, which has recently joined again the NATO military structures, after a 43 years’ break, as well as with the participation of fresh NATO members, like Romania, which celebrates 5 years of NATO membership. One of the controversial topics is related to Afghanistan, where some 55,000 NATO troops are deployed.
US president Barack Obama said that Washington would send extra troops to that country, given that Europe will not get equally involved in the war on terror in Asia. Europeans are afraid that the new American strategy, which implies decisions and actions on its own, might mean smaller funds for NATO or even the end of the organization.
Under the circumstances, the Alliance would be doomed no longer to fulfil its basic functions and become a kind of UNO. That is why, the summit scheduled in Kehl, Germany and Strasbourg, France on April 3rd and 4th may prove to be a crucial moment in the history of NATO.
|
|
| |
WMA |
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
MP3 |
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
AAC+ |
|
|
48kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
 Historical mascot of
RRI |
| |
© 1999 - 2011 Copyright Radio Romania International |
|
2025-04-03
Print
Listen again