Non-Subscriber Extract
UK report urges action to restore NATO's credibility
By Denise Hammick
25 March 2008
The future of NATO is threatened "by lack of political will", says a report published by the UK's House of Commons Defence Select Committee (HCDC) on 20 March.
The report re-affirms NATO's status as an "indispensable alliance", which must remain a central pillar of UK and European defence policy. However, the HCDC also stresses that NATO faces threats to its credibility and cohesion mostly emanating from a lack of political will to support the alliance in member countries.
"If people do not understand what NATO is for or why it remains important, their support will inevitably decline," the report says. "NATO needs to define its role and purpose far more clearly and should agree a new Strategic Concept explaining that role as a matter of priority." The HCDC's comments echo the call of NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on 15 March to begin defining a new Strategic Concept and create a preliminary document called the Atlantic Charter by NATO's 2009 Summit.
Success in Afghanistan, however, must be at the top of NATO's agenda, as "failure there would deal a severe blow to the unity and cohesion of NATO.