However, for NATO to best use this possibility, it needs to in the short run abandon its expansionary stance. It is no longer a simple transatlantic alliance — it includes the former Soviet satellites, which naturally threatens Russia. Therefore, the Membership Action Plans, through which NATO adds members, should be temporarily frozen. As experts at the Council on Foreign Relations point out, letting the issue of Georgian and Ukrainian membership dominate the conference wouldn’t help. Currently the alliance is at 26 members; new members need a defined role.

Changes are also taking place between the two major components of NATO, the US and the EU. Following the demise of the Russian threat, NATO suffered from a serious identity crisis, and talk of an EU military alliance was heard: this no longer is the case. With the arrival of the Obama administration, Europe looks to the US for new global leadership and a departure from Bush’s policies.

A more cooperative Europe can be seen through the French entry into NATO after a 43-year hiatus. De Gaulle pulled France out of the alliance in 1966 citing a loss of sovereignty; Sarkozy’s France no longer views NATO as an American tool. The discourse following the decision centred on cross-Atlantic cooperation, with equal responsibility to each member. Further, France is one of the major troop-contributing countries in the Afghan War. NATO now needs allies with an expeditionary tradition: ones which will go and fight alongside American soldiers. Obama needs to assure such allies that his administration is not vying for control and power at the top.

... contd.