Anders Fogh Rasmussen on NATO

As an American, and a former Army Officer, I find his comments don't go far enough, especially toward EU military integration.

Either the EU is a sovereign entity or it is not: monetary, the willingness of Germans to support the euro means that even the most fiscally prudent members believe it is. Do Europeans realize this? There is no going back... while there will always be France, Italy, and German, etc., the people in those countries will be Europeans!

Thus, the EU part of NATO ought to be COMPLETELY integrated: one military umbrella, integrated military, common equipment (kit), single language (English...sorry), and the understanding that once NATO votes to act on military action, EU forces (regardless of the place of birth of military members) will acts accordingly.

American states may not be as culturally diverse as European countries, but we certainly differ more politically; yet, we contribute to one a common military. Europe can and must do the same!

One Europe, One People, One Military.

Secretary Fogh Rasmussen says that the core mission of NATO is the territorial defense of the member states. That is probably true but there seems to be no realistic threat of military invasion. On the other hand, European countries may find themselves within range of nuclear missiles from hostile countries within a decade or so, not counting Russia (it does not seem entirely clear how hostile Russia is and will be in the future). This would give some countries, such as Germany and Turkey a strong incentive to develop their own nuclear deterrent, which I think would be a huge mistake. Therefore I believe that NATO's most important "core mission" is to share the American, French and British nuclear "umbrellas" so that the other NATO countries will have little incentive (beyond "national prestige") to develop nuclear weapons of their own and thus stem nuclear proliferation in Europe.

Dear Anders, Maybe NATO leaders should focus more on mental health issues, on a healthy & happy Mankind for "teriitorial defense".

Social & community workers could maybe be the key to the resolution of pooling resources to buy expensive kit.

Make Man the measure of all things, and humanize NATO as should be the case in all communities.

Nato is still proving that is a viable alliance to this day. Not many people (including myself) expected it to last after the cold war proved to be over. But when all the countries are aligned towards one goal, it still prves it's effectiveness.

Guy Pelletier
http://www.listingforless.ca