Word: nato
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...Cold War ended almost 20 years ago, but its mark on international relations is still clearly visible. An outdated relic of that tenuous time, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) no longer effectively serves its purpose of promoting peace and stability. Instead of encouraging international cooperation and peace, NATO undermines both by furthering the division of Europe into East and West. It has become an obstacle to the development of an independent and strong Europe because of its historical rivalry with Russia and its perpetuation of unnecessary U.S. involvement in Europe.The controversy surrounding membership proposals made at the NATO summit...
...that the head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, is furious and has demanded a "line-by-line" explanation of what happened on these trips and who authorized them. The RAF has long complained about a shortage of Chinook helicopters in Afghanistan. For years officials at NATO have been exhorting its member states to pony up more transport helicopters for that mission, with limited success...
...issue is Canada's military role in Afghanistan. Canada is one of 26 NATO countries in the International Security Assistance Force, which is attempting to stabilize Afghanistan and neutralize the Taliban and al-Qaeda. But Canada is one of only a handful of NATO countries that have embraced the task of actual war-fighting. The Canadians, who have 2,500 troops on the ground, have suffered 82 fatalities, a death rate that is higher than the U.S. military's in Iraq. In an increasingly two-tiered NATO alliance, Canada occupies the fighting tier, alongside the U.S., Britain, Denmark...
...less on combat and more on training Afghan security forces. When finally consulted in earnest, Canadians concluded that the financial and human costs of the mission were in fact worth bearing, at least for now. That's the good news. The bad news is that unlike Canada, few other NATO countries have begun to grapple with the urgency of 21st century threats or the sacrifices needed to deal with them. The avoidance of these topics allows European politicians to shirk tough questions and deprives them of the opportunity to educate their people about the security and humanitarian stakes in Afghanistan...
...alone can't succeed in Afghanistan. But Canada's example shows that even our closest allies need to be convinced that the fight is theirs too. Before countries like Macedonia, Albania and Croatia gain admission to NATO, they should be reminded that membership carries responsibilities as well as rewards. NATO rules should be rewritten to ensure that countries that invest disproportionate military and financial resources (as Canada has done) should have some of their costs subsidized by the alliance. If a government does not want to send its troops to fight, it should still be obliged to contribute funding...