Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the latest in the line of foreign dignitaries queuing up to say that Britain’s defence cuts are a “matter of concern”. Recently, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates made similar interventions – timed as Prime Minister David Cameron was under major pressure to reduce the cuts he was demanding from the Ministry of Defence.
Describing Nato as “the most successful defensive alliance in the history of the world”, Hillary Clinton stated that: “Each country has to be able to make its appropriate contributions”. Money is the big issue here, as Robert Gates made clear. He said: “The more our allies cut their capabilities, the more people will look to the United States to cover whatever gaps are created. At a time when we are facing stringencies of our own, that’s a concern for me.”
The bill for the war in Afghanistan is mounting – as is the death toll – so the Americans want Britain’s input of blood and treasure to continue. No doubt, these concerns will be expressed as Nato leaders gather for a summit in Lisbon later this month. But even money won’t be the most significant talking point. Top of the agenda will be how to get out of the mess they have made in Afghanistan with the minimum loss of face.
As Rasmussen was busy lecturing us on British television about our spending obligations, he also stated that the summit would set out a “roadmap” for handing over control of Afghanistan from Nato to Afghan security forces. “The sooner the better” is now pretty much universally supported.
Afghanistan will not be the only issue under discussion. One of the summit’s other main preoccupation will be a new strategic concept. The last one was launched in 1999, while Nato was waging its illegal war on Yugoslavia. On that occasion, the remit was changed from the supposedly defensive posture of the Cold War to one of offensive operations, engaging in “out of area activities” across the entire Eurasian landmass. The war in Afghanistan is the result of that strategic concept. What will the new one bring?
Recently, we received a hint from Ivo Daalder, the US Ambassador to Nato. Speaking last month, he said: “We’re launching Nato 3.0”. That sounds like bad news – and it is. As Daalder put it: “It is no longer just about Europe. It’s not a global alliance, but it is a global actor.” The fear of many peace campaigners over the past few years has been that Nato will try to extend its reach globally. Now it seems as though that will come to pass. And what will be the purpose of this extended reach? Daalder said: “We need to look for opportunities to work with countries we haven’t worked with before, like India, China, and Brazil”. But what exactly does it mean for Nato to “work” with a country? Is Nato “working” with Afghanistan? Or is the remit of Nato to extend into non-military areas? Is it now to be a military, economic and political bloc with global reach?
Daalder has actually identified three of the four most rapidly growing economies in the world – Russia being the fourth. And Russia has already been invited to the Nato summit. These are important issues to analyse and address, especially as Daalder seemed rather smug when he said: “The question of whether Nato will be operating globally is solved. It’s done. We’re there.” Of course, he is somewhat overstating the case – that is still aspirational rather than actual.
However, Rasmussen offers a different – but also very worrying – angle on future intervention. “I would not exclude the possibility that we can get engaged in coming years if we see failed states being a potential threat, because they offer a safe haven for terrorists.”
Clearly, Nato needs to be watched closely – not least because of the United Kingdom’s continuing central role in Afghanistan. David Cameron’s stated timetable is to withdraw British combat troops by 2015. But this timeframe is five years too long. A significant majority of the population of this country oppose the war in Afghanistan. Too many lives have been lost already. This is a war that must end now and our Government must bring pressure at the Nato summit to make it a rapid conclusion.
As Nato leaders gather in Lisbon for their summit, join CND, the Stop the War Coalition and the British Muslim Initiative on Saturday November 20 to call for troops out of Afghanistan – 12 noon at Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park, London, marching to a rally in Trafalgar Square www.cnduk.org
Kate Hudson is general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
