NATO

I’m terribly sorry for not posting anything new this past week. I’ve been extremely busy and I haven’t been able to find time to sit down at the computer and produce a half-decent post. This coming week will also be packed, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to update the blog, but I promise to be back writing every second day after Sunday April 13^th!

But before I go, I’d like to say a quick word about this week’s NATO summit which saw France commit 800 troops to Eastern Afghanistan, making it possible for the U.S. to move a thousand into Kandahar and meet Canada’s requirement for staying until 2011.

The first thing we should all understand is that this was all planned in advance. There was never any doubt that Canada would get its 1000 reinforcements, and most people correctly suspected that they would come from the States. There isn’t any surprise either with France sending some more soldiers: the French already had a detachment in Kabul (though soldiers were banned from fighting after dusk!) and it was widely known that President Sarkozy, very pro-american, was ready to increase his country’s commitment to Afghanistan.

So to all those –including many respected political commentators- who saw in this meeting a revival of NATO and an important step for Afghanistan: you’re dreaming in Technicolor. In fact, this meeting accomplished nothing, and makes the future of the alliance look even more bleak.

Let’s put it this way: NATO currently has 26 member countries, all of which have supported the decision to invade Afghanistan. Of these 26 member countries, four are actually participating in military operations: the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands and Canada. It now appears that France will also be playing a role, albeit very limited.

Simply put, that’s it! No other NATO member countries are doing anything significant, including large players such as Germany, Italy and Spain.

So where do we go from here? Well if you’re Canada, you stay in Afghanistan until 2011… unless of course the NDP is elected. But if you’re NATO, it’s time that you start asking yourself some pretty serious existential questions. For, as everyone knows, NATO isn’t an alliance any more; it’s a two tiered group of countries that are prepared to follow U.S. foreign policy and countries that are just along for the ride.