NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called for the alliance to expand cooperation with Israel. Israel has been part of the Mediterranean dialogue with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes Arab states such as Tunisia and Egypt, since 1994. But there have been recent calls for NATO to deepen the relationship still further by accepting Israel as a member.
NATO’s Nuclear Posture
Nato’s tactical nuclear weapons: the new doctrine
Nato's new strategic concept was described as a “conservative, backward-looking” document and “a missed opportunity” in a joint statement issued by BASIC and the Arms Control Association. To read more click here:
NATO unveils Strategic Concept
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has unveiled its policy documents charting the way ahead for the Alliance over the next 10 years. The Strategic Concept, covering NATO doctrine on nuclear and conventional defence and security strategy, was released on November 19th. The Lisbon summit Declaration, on how the Alliance will implement the principles laid down in the Strategic Concept, came out the following day.
Obama: NATO to erect missile shield for Europe
“In an astonishing demonstration of weakness, NATO heads of state have failed to tackle the Cold War legacy of the deployment of U.S. nuclear gravity bombs in Europe, threatening the credibility of NATO members’ claims to be interested in non-proliferation and global disarmament.”
Experts Call NATO Strategic Concept ‘Missed Opportunity to Reduce Role of Obsolete Tactical Nukes from Europe’
U.S. and European nuclear arms control and security experts criticized NATO\’s new “Strategic Concept” as a conservative, backward-looking policy, a missed opportunity to reduce the number and role of the 200 forward-deployed U.S. tactical nuclear bombs and engage Russia in a dialogue on removing all tactical nuclear weapons from Europe.
Current NATO Nuclear Policy
Des Browne argued that “while there is no case for NATO giving up all its nuclear forces unilaterally, there is also no real case for continuing with the status quo….. The question for NATO as it revises its Strategic Concept ahead of Lisbon is what can it do to add to the disarmament momentum without either undermining alliance cohesion or taking unnecessary risks with alliance security?
Polish and Central European Priorities on NATO’s Future Nuclear Policy
In the present debate over the future of NATO’s nuclear policy, and especially the stationing of the U.S. sub-strategic nuclear weapons in Europe, the countries of Central Europe (understood here as the Baltic Three – Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia – plus Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia) are usually presented as the staunch supporters of the nuclear status quo, in favour of the permanent deployment of the U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe out of the fear of Russia.
Options for arms control to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in NATO
Ever since the Harmel report, NATO has been committed to a broad approach to security, including arms control, disarmament and other co-operative security tools as necessary complement to military capabilities. The declaration on Alliance security adopted by the 2009 Strasbourg summit reflects this twofold approach by restating that deterrence, including through nuclear capabilities, will remain a core element of NATO strategy, while at the same time NATO will continue to play its part in reinforcing arms control and promoting nuclear and conventional disarmament and non-proliferation.