With the new threats posed by Isis and Russia, the agenda at this week's Nato summit is full to bursting
The last time the UK hosted a Nato
summit was in 1990, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, the cold
war was coming to an end, and the alliance was questioning its
relevance in a multipolar world where soft power might count more than
hard power. The old chestnut about Nato's purpose voiced by the first
Nato secretary general, Lord Ismay – "to keep the Russians out, the
Americans in" – looked hopelessly anachronistic. Russia famously had become a country with which the west felt it could do business.
A quarter of a century later, Putin's actions, and the ever more grisly new threats posed by Islamic militants, has given Nato a new lease of life. Indeed, Nato is now so relevant that David Cameron's chief task as host to this week's summit in Wales has been to ensure that the agenda does not burst at the seams. Discussions will range across the Russian advance in Ukraine and expansionist threat to the Baltics, the Nato withdrawal from Afghanistan next year, the possibility of wider alliance air strikes in northern Iraq against Islamic State (ISIS) the need for Nato to produce a viable rapid reaction force in Europe as well as respond to the threats of hybrid warfare and terrorism.
Cameron has ensured that the crisis posed by Isis – made even more pertinent by the latest beheading and the threat to a British citizen – will be discussed both at a working dinner on Thursdaytomorrow evening, and then again on Friday as the 28 members discuss asymmetric warfare, and how to respond to...
A quarter of a century later, Putin's actions, and the ever more grisly new threats posed by Islamic militants, has given Nato a new lease of life. Indeed, Nato is now so relevant that David Cameron's chief task as host to this week's summit in Wales has been to ensure that the agenda does not burst at the seams. Discussions will range across the Russian advance in Ukraine and expansionist threat to the Baltics, the Nato withdrawal from Afghanistan next year, the possibility of wider alliance air strikes in northern Iraq against Islamic State (ISIS) the need for Nato to produce a viable rapid reaction force in Europe as well as respond to the threats of hybrid warfare and terrorism.
Cameron has ensured that the crisis posed by Isis – made even more pertinent by the latest beheading and the threat to a British citizen – will be discussed both at a working dinner on Thursdaytomorrow evening, and then again on Friday as the 28 members discuss asymmetric warfare, and how to respond to...
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