'The
Last Days of the Atlantic Alliance'?
In
a later article published in the London Financial Timeson
Nov. 17, Dr. Kupchan predicts that the NATO summit held later
that week would not hide the reality that these are "The Last
Days of the Atlantic Alliance," as the title of his article
puts it.
Contrasting
the excitement in Washington at the last enlargement of NATO
with the deafening American silence at NATO's invitation to
seven more former communist countries to join, Dr. Kupchan
points out that NATO's "founder and primary patron, the US,
is losing interest in NATO. The result is a military pact
that is . . . of diminishing geopolitical relevance."
Three
developments have contributed to this, claims Dr. Kupchan.
"First, Europe's own success obviates the need for its American
guardian . . . Second, the two sides of the Atlantic are drifting
apart politically . . . Third, US priorities are shifting
away from Europe . . ."
Although
Dr. Kupchan thinks the NATO alliance will exist on paper for
at least the remainder of this decade, the reality is that
it has outlived its usefulness.". . .The US is losing interest
in NATO," he explains. "The result is a military pact that
is hollowing out and of diminishing geopolitical relevance.
". . .The
US and Europe are thus parting ways, bringing to an end their
close strategic partnership . . . The EU must now ready itself
to shoulder more responsibility for its own defence."
Somewhat
ominously,Dr. Kupchan warns that "the EU's prospective members
in central Europe must realise that their future security,
as well as their economic well being, rests with the EU. Accordingly,
they should get behind the union's push on the defence front,
instead of quietly resisting the EU's efforts in the hope
of keeping NATO in the lead."
Once again,
shifting alliances and changing priorities are bringing about
the final realignment of nations that will lead to the prophesied
fulfillment of end-time events. |
