The Foreign Service Journal, April 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2019 25 The alliance will only matter in the future if it has the same cohesion and common purpose which was envisaged 70 years ago. Its vital deterrent value against new adversaries and new non- military threats will only exist if all nations contribute equally. NATO is a powerful military organization, and Article 5 has the respect of any potential adversary. Spending may still be short of ideal, but it dwarfs all neighbors. That is why those who would challenge us look to the weak underbelly of our democracies. Splits are exploited, open elections can be affected, public debate can be hijacked, and electronic communications can be sub- verted. It is essential, therefore, that NATO’s defenses are much more than military. And in that collective deterrence which has kept the peace in the Euro-Atlantic area for 70 years is the crucial nuclear element. The American, British and French nuclear forces, along with other weapons on European soil, have been the backbone of a pos- ture which has made conventional war unthinkable. They are as important today as they ever were. Hard power is NATO’s signature, but its soft power and politi- cal role are often underestimated. The Partnership for Peace has achieved small, quiet miracles in cajoling and encouraging nations to modernize militaries and build democratic institutions. It has prepared nations for full membership and given others a practical forum for cooperation and progress. Relations with Russia matter. The NATO/Russia Council, of which I was the first chairman, should be an important venue for dialogue. It was created in a time of rare amity but was intended for tough times, as well. The urgency of talking with the big eastern neighbor is manifest. We should reinvigorate the council. It is now 18 years since I stood at the old NATO headquarters and invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on behalf of 19 nations following the 9/11 attacks on the United States. It was to be the first and only time in the history of the alliance, and it was a clear signal to the enemies of our democratic assembly of free nations that we meant business. As NATO turns 70, the unity and determination it displayed after 9/11 has to be a rallying point—and a reminder of what the alliance needs to be in its next several decades. n