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<TITLE>U.K. Defense Minister George Robertson's Address to 1998 NATO Workshop, Vienna, Austria</TITLE>
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<BODY LINK="0000ff" BGPROPERTIES="FIXED" BGCOLOR="ffffff"><BASEFONT SIZE="3">
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="7" FACE="Palatino">The New
NATO </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="4" FACE="Palatino">United
Kingdom Secretary of State for Defense George Robertson</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Although I
was the penultimate speaker of the XVth NATO Workshop, I will not be
providing you with a summary, but with a look forward. I want to
talk about the new NATO—how will it meet new challenges? How
will it take advantage of new opportunities? How can it define its
role as it begins its second half-century? These are vital questions
that we must answer if NATO is to remain relevant into the new millennium
and—just as important—if it is to be seen as relevant by the
taxpayers who fund it.<FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><FONT SIZE="+1"><B>AN
UPDATED STRATEGIC CONCEPT</B></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">These
issues are now being debated within NATO as part of the examination and
updating of the Alliance’s Strategic Concept, which will be put to
our heads of state and governments at the Washington Summit. The
Strategic Concept must set out the roles and purpose of the new NATO, and
I would like now to discuss how I believe the Strategic Concept should
address those roles and that purpose. </FONT> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="4" FACE="Palatino">Retain
Founding Principles</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">First, the
new NATO must retain the key principles that have brought success and
security in the past. These are: </FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Embodying and
maintaining the transatlantic dimension of our security; </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Maintaining an
effective and flexible military instrument for dealing with future risks
and challenges; </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Acting as the Allies’
primary forum for consultation on all issues of security concern;
</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Preventing the
renationalization of defense in Europe. </FONT></LI>
</UL>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT SIZE="+1"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">These
principles have underpinned the Alliance for half a century. Through
them, NATO has brought greater stability to Western Europe than our
continent has ever known, so it is vital that we maintain them. NATO
has been one of the great success stories of the 20th century, and we
should celebrate this but not rest on our laurels—the world does not
stand still. </FONT> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="4" FACE="Palatino">Recognize
and Address New Developments </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Second, the
Euro-Atlantic security environment in which the 1991 Strategic Concept was
written was very different from today’s environment—the Concept
was written for a world in the midst of dramatic transition. That
transition is still taking place, opening doors to an era of ever more
rapid change. But NATO has developed too, in both scale and scope.
</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">It is a fact
that NATO is now undertaking operations in Bosnia, and did so in mid-June
around Kosovo. It is also a fact that NATO now has varied and strong
relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. And it
is a fact that European Allies are developing a European Defense Identity
with the Alliance. There are many areas in which NATO has moved
forward since 1991. And it is important for NATO’s continuing
relevance that the Strategic Concept recognize these developments. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">I would like
now to talk about three particular developments: the types of military
missions the Alliance might undertake; the development of military
relations with non-Allies; and the development of a European Security and
Defense Identity (ESDI). </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">1. <I>The
types of missions we might ask our armed forces to undertake</I>. I
am quite certain that we must maintain NATO’s bedrock mission of
collective defense. We must also ensure that our national and Allied
plans, and the military capabilities that would turn them into reality,
are equal to this collective guarantee. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">But,
increasingly, in the current and foreseeable security environment, the
risks that we face are not of a collective-defense nature. NATO must
therefore place more emphasis on its ability to respond to the
multi-dimensional contingencies that are now more prevalent. Increasingly,
we must face situations where there is no direct attack on an Ally but
shared Allied interests are affected nonetheless. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">The Alliance
response to such contingencies cannot be automatic or determined in
advance. So our approach should be permissive and flexible. Decisions
should be made case by case, taking full account of the circumstances at
the time. We must judge whether, and by how much, collective
interests are at stake, and whether a military response is appropriate.
</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Our focus in
updating the Strategic Concept should be on identifiable risks to shared
Allied interests. We will not find success in geographical or
functional limits. All NATO action must of course be fully
consistent with international law. And the Strategic Concept must
also recognize that response decisions will always be difficult. It
must facilitate the decision-making process, not encumber it. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">But to
undertake the full range of its missions collectively, NATO Allies must
ensure that they have the right military capabilities. Alliance
forces must be flexible, deployable, mobile, and sustainable. They
must be capable of operating well away from their normal base location;
they must be capable of operating over extended periods of time; and they
must be capable of responding rapidly to a diverse range of military
scenarios. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">If we are to
be a serious military alliance, it is important that all Allies have
capable armed forces. NATO cannot rely on one or two countries
alone. And we must not think that peace-support operations are less
demanding on our forces than conventional territorial defense: such
operations can, as Bosnia has taught us, be very challenging, particularly
to our deployability and sustainability. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">2. <I>NATO’s
developing relationship with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe</I>.
Since 1994, the Partnership for Peace has steadily created a
community of nations willing and able to work together—and with NATO.
It has been a great success, and is now a major feature in the
Euro-Atlantic security architecture. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">The
Partnership for Peace, and a mature Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, can
play major roles in building confidence and trust between the armed forces
of NATO and its partners, as well as between their peoples and their
governments. The new Strategic Concept must reflect this point.
The Partnership for Peace offers Partners an unprecedented spectrum
of opportunities through which to develop links with NATO, and we must
continue to build and deepen them. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Bilateral
relations between Allies and Partners are also extremely important. The
U.K.’s bilateral program with the countries of Central and Eastern
Europe complements NATO’s own work. The know-how of British
armed forces is highly sought after in these countries. I am keen to
promote this “defense diplomacy” in every way I can. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">The skills
and ethos of the British armed forces make our servicemen and women
especially able to develop bilateral contacts with their colleagues in
Central and Eastern Europe, generating confidence between them and
building advanced security. This is the human face of
military-to-military relations, and I am keen to develop it wherever
possible. Investments of this type are a valuable insurance policy
against future instability—in Europe and further afield. Conflict
prevention is equally as important as conflict resolution. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">The
Strategic Concept must also reflect the very welcome developments in NATO’s
relations with Russia and Ukraine. NATO must work up a solid and
constructive relationship with the new Russia. We are already
partners in attempting to resolve the problems of the Balkans. We
must build on this. The signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, and
the founding of the Permanent Joint Council, will also allow greater
practical cooperation and confidence building. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Our work
with our Ukrainian partners under the NATO-Ukraine Charter recognizes the
distinctive place of Ukraine in European security. Last September,
as guest of the Defense Minister of Ukraine and the Defense Minister of
Poland, I sailed from Sebastopol to Yalta aboard the flagship of the
Ukrainian navy on the way to a joint military exercise. By engaging
in practical cooperation of this type, we are breaking ground for the
foundation of wider Euro-Atlantic security. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">As part of
developing relations with non-NATO countries, we must look to the
enlargement of the Alliance. We look forward to formally welcoming
the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland as full members of the Alliance,
and believe the new Strategic Concept should reaffirm that the Alliance
will remain open, under the provisions of Article 10 of its treaty, to
countries in a position to further the principles of the treaty and
contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. But the Strategic
Concept is not the place to debate the who or when of further enlargement.
</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">3. <I>The
development of the European Security and Defense Identity</I>. I
firmly believe that the development of ESDI within NATO will come to be
seen as one of the most important developments in the Euro-Atlantic
security architecture in recent years. It is therefore important
that the new Strategic Concept recognize that European Allies may wish to
act together in circumstances where our North American Allies do not wish
to become involved. The Concept must take account of developments to
make ESDI a reality, including the possibility that NATO may agree that
Alliance assets and capabilities can be used for operations under the
political control and strategic direction of the WEU. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">If European
Allies are to build a credible ESDI, however, they must also recognize
that their military capabilities must be developed to meet the challenges
of these operations. The Strategic Concept must ensure that it is this
vision of a powerful, practical, and empowering ESDI that prevails.</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B><FONT SIZE="+1">CONCLUDING
REMARKS</FONT></B></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">In summary,
the new Strategic Concept will give us unique scope for setting out how
NATO will meet new challenges and use new opportunities. NATO Allies
must seize this chance to demonstrate the Alliance’s relevance to
their publics.</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="robertson98.htm">Go to Top of Page</A></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="workshop98.htm">Return to Vienna '98</A></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="../index.html">Return to Home Page</A></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT">Copyright © 1998 Center for Strategic Decision
Research</P>
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