A spokeswoman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement to CBS News correspondent Kitty Logan Monday that the coalition wasn't in a position to confirm Haqqani's death but that, if true, it would be "significant." "Badruddin Haqanni is responsible for a number of high-profile suicide attacks in and around the Kabul area," the ISAF statement said.NATO, originally a collective security alliance to deter Soviet aggression in Europe, has survived and expanded following the fall of the USSR. The current mission in Afghanistan is but one example: NATO forces have seen action in Kosovo and, more recently, Libya.
Does NATO's expansion and commitments to areas outside its original purview signal an expansion of American power? Or might there be some other motive behind the extension of the security community beyond the North Atlantic?
I find it hard to consider NATO's expansion outside of the North Atlantic an expansion of American power. This is because there is a clear security threat to Westernized countries in in Afghanistan. Groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban have clear anti-western ideologies and because NATO is backed by the west and most importantly, the US, these groups in Afghanistan pose a clear security threat to all of the countries of NATO. As far as the US being expansionist I believe that it would be more logical to consider this NATO intervention as closer to offshore balancing rather than expansionism or hegemony because the US uses the backing of the other countries of NATO and the US has no long term intensions of occupying Afghanistan once a stable government is established.
ReplyDeleteClayton
Sorry to say, but NATO is notorious in China. Chinese media definitely sees NATO as a way for US to pursue hegemony in the world, to intervene with other nations' domestic affairs and make them most favorable to US, and a big treat to the "peace-loving Chinese people". The NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade back in 1999 well explained Chinese people's hatred toward US-led NATO. I was seven years old, but I remember seeing the news of three Chinese reporters' death, protests all over the nation, and Clinton's apology on TV. Although Clinton claimed the bombing is accidental, most Chinese people still believe the bombing was barbarian and deliberate. I, for the most parts, disagree with Chinese media, but on this specific matter, I agree. In my opinion, NATO is an example of American expansion outside the North Atlantic, and a good proof of the US hegemony grand strategy.
ReplyDeleteClarification please: which Andy is this?
DeleteAndy Chen
DeleteThank you, Andy. It's helpful having an outside view.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not believe that NATO’s expansion and commitments to areas outside its original authority signal an expansion of American power. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was necessary for NATO to expand to other Eastern European countries and redefine its commitments to the international community. Since NATO was shaped by the Western ideals of the United States during its formation it is not surprising that those ideals still persist today. NATO’s expansion beyond the North Atlantic to areas such as the Africa, Asia, and the Middle East is completely understandable. In this newly globalized and interconnected world threats to the countries of NATO are no longer going to solely exist in Europe. It is necessary for NATO to expand in order to combat the Taliban and other terrorist groups that pose direct threats to the views and beliefs of the countries of NATO. I believe that the expansion of NATO will allow it to serve as an excellent offshore balancer and will allow the European countries within NATO to assert themselves in the international community.
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