Word: nato
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...instead of taking its final bow, NATO expanded. In 1994, the alliance sent out invitations to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland; five years later, all three were in. Sixty years ago, NATO started out with 12 members; today it has 26. Not bad for an outfit that, according to theory, should have breathed its last once the Soviet Union had capitulated...
...functional. Why else would so many nations try to court her? Give the nod to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldavia and Ukraine, and many of the good folks of those lands will be hopping on a plane to Brussels. Not only does nobody want to leave but France, which left NATO's integrated military command 43 years ago, has just now returned. In the past, France preferred being outside the tent. Now, President Nicolas Sarkozy has decided that it is better to be inside, rubbing shoulders with the American giant and thus looking like a colossus himself...
...Kosovo also aims to join the EU, and it already uses the euro as its currency. It is, however, far from ready to join. It is still dependent on NATO security forces, and its economy is extremely weak—at least 40 percent of the population is unemployed...
...Kosovo and Serbia are certainly not ready for EU membership right now and probably will not be for some time–-at least until Serbia agrees to at least a de facto recognition of Kosovo’s independence and Kosovo can govern itself without the assistance of NATO forces deployed there. Nevertheless, the EU can and should play its own role in shaping the politics of this region by showing Kosovo and Serbia that it intends to extend EU membership to both of them when they are ready. This is the only way to permanently bring stability...
...will allow them to pass through Turkey on their way out, in line with President Obama's withdrawal plans. Ankara may play an even larger role in Afghanistan, another key focus of the Obama Administration. Turkey already has about 800 troops on the ground as part of the NATO mission there, and could potentially provide more - the Obama Administration is currently struggling to convince other European NATO allies to send reinforcements. Washington could also seek Ankara's help in persuading some its neighbors to allow NATO to run supply lines for its Afghanistan mission through their territories...