EDITORIAL: NATO: toward "a Europe whole and free" (04/04/04)

EDITORIAL

NATO: toward "a Europe whole and free"

It was a historic week as NATO welcomed seven new members, bringing the number of its member-states from 19 to 26. But even more significant was the fact that these new members - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia - comprised countries once considered to be part of the Soviet sphere of influence and states that once were part of the USSR (though we must underscore that the U.S. never did recognize the USSR's forcible incorporation of the Baltic states).

Taken together with the previous group of countries admitted in 1999 - Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary - this means that 40 percent of NATO is now composed of formerly Communist states. Set up in 1949 as a counterbalance to the USSR's military prowess, the alliance has moved well beyond its Cold War-era raison d'être toward a partnership in global affairs, though mutual defense remains its fundamental purpose.

"When NATO was founded, the people of these seven nations were captives to an empire," said President George W. Bush during the accession ceremony held on March 29 in Washington. "They endured bitter tyranny. They struggled for independence. They earned their freedom through courage and perseverance. And today they stand with us as full and equal partners in this great alliance."

To be sure, the expansion is something that President Vladimir Putin's neo-imperial Russia is none too happy about. (Of course, Russia wasn't pleased either with the first round of NATO expansion after the disintegration of the USSR.) CNN reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov commented that Russia might have to revise its defense policy unless NATO revises its military doctrine. RFE/RL noted that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country is particularly concerned by NATO's decision to base warplanes in Lithuania to patrol the Baltic states' airspace. Air Force Gen. Anatolii Kornukov was quoted by RFE/RL as saying, "We must take the most decisive measures. And this includes in relation to the alliance's aircraft. If they violate our border, they should be shot down and that's it."

Konstantin Kosachiov, chair of the Russian Duma's International Affairs Committee said that NATO "has recently been making steps that are unfriendly to Russia," adding that "it cannot be ruled out that Russia ought to look at the possibility of taking corresponding measures." And, by a vote of 305-41, with two abstentions, the Duma adopted a resolution that calls upon NATO to "genuinely take into account [Russia's] concern over the alliance's expansion." According to RFE/RL, the resolution says that if NATO fails to do these things, the legislature will recommend that the government revise Russia's defense policies, "including re-evaluating the expediency of the Russian Federation's continuing participation in international conventional-arms-control treaties and a review of the structure of Russia's armed forces toward increasing their potential for nuclear deterrence," and calls on the Russian Security Council to consider deploying additional forces to regions bordering NATO member-states.

Russia's reservations and threats aside, most commentators this week welcomed NATO's expansion and looked ahead to the next round. As noted in an online discussion on washingtonpost.com by Robert Hunter, NATO ambassador during the Clinton administration, the expansion "is a further step in fulfilling the potential - and the promise - of a 'Europe whole and free.' " Those were the words, readers may recall, of President George H.W. Bush as he outlined NATO's new mission in 1989 - before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

We hail NATO's new members, and look forward to the day when, in keeping with the open door policy reiterated this week by President George W. Bush, Ukraine can join its ranks. And we urge the United States and other NATO members to redouble their efforts toward making that integration a reality and reuniting Ukraine with Europe.

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